The spotlight is on Sacramento as they battle Los Angeles tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2!

1) The Monarchs (12-9) face the Sparks (8-13) at ARCO Arena. The Sparks have given the Monarchs trouble this season, winning two of the three meetings this season.

2) Marta Fernandez was the offensive catalyst for the Sparks in the previous meeting. She scored a career-high 26 points. Guarding her will be a tough task, but as always, the Monarchs will be up to the challenge.

3) Tonight’s game will not only be a meeting of two rivals, but this match-up will also hold huge implications on the playoff race out west.

“It’s a very important game,” Kara Lawson said after a recent practice. “They are just (three and a half games) out of the playoffs, being fifth in the west. We want to keep the teams (on the outside looking in) out of the playoff picture. Hopefully, we can push them down further.”

4) Nicole Powell and Chelsea Newton are performing strongly versus the Sparks this season. Newton is shooting 60 percent from the field in addition to averaging 10 points. Powell is averaging a double-double, 17 points and 10 boards against Los Angeles this year.

5) Monarchs fans have been a boisterous force in ARCO Arena all season long. This is evident in the Monarchs home record of 7-3. The ARCO crowd will need to be as lively as ever tonight to help the Monarchs get back on track.

Closing thought…
Beating L.A. isn’t crucial to lifting the Monarchs confidence according to Scholanda Robinson. Rather, it is playing up to the team’s standards that will get this team out of its rut.

“I don’t want to say just beating L.A. tomorrow will give us a boost of confidence,” said the Monarchs guard. “Because I think that it will be false-confidence. We’re a good team and when we play to our capabilities, we can beat anybody. So going out there and playing to the best of our abilities is what’s going to boost our confidence.”