Nicole Powell shoots as referee looks Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images

You won’t hear John Whisenant proclaim to be the next Emeril Lagasse or WolfGang Puck, but the Sacramento Monarchs head coach and general manager found something the two cooking legends strive to uncover – the perfect ingredient.

For Whisenant, the ingredient wasn’t oregano or a white wine sauce, but a small forward he found sitting on a bench in Charlotte, N.C.

In the team’s biggest move of the off-season, the Monarchs, in need of a perimeter shooter, acquired the seldom-used Nicole Powell from the Charlotte Sting in exchange for Tangela Smith. Sacramento also received Erin Buescher and Olympia Scott-Richardson in the trade.

Since arriving in Sacramento, Powell, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft out of Stanford University, has quickly become one of the league’s top small forwards and has played a key role in the Monarchs 7-2 start.

“She can shoot, she’s smart and she’s a basketball junkie,” Whisenant said. “She fits in well because of those things.”

The 22-year-old is averaging 11.6 points per game and has seen her playing time increase from 12.4 minutes per game in Charlotte to 28.9 minutes per game in Sacramento.

“She’s in a whole new system for a team that appreciates her more,” Monarchs forward/center Yolanda Griffith said. “When you have teammates who appreciate you, it helps you relax and it helps you focus on being better.”

In only nine games this season, Powell, the WNBA’s leading 3-point shooter, has twice connected on five 3-pointers in a game. On June 13, against the Houston Comets, four of her five 3-pointers came in the second half, including two in the final minutes to give the Monarchs a victory.

“Once you hit one or two you feel you can hit the rest,” Powell said. “You need to find the right balance. If you’re open and you have a shot you have to take it.”

Following the victory over Houston, Comets guard Sheryl Swoopes said their game plan was to shut down Powell from beyond the arc, but they were unable to guard her close enough.

“Her game is to catch and shoot and that’s what she did,” the two-time MVP said. “With a shooter like that, she makes one or two and gets her confidence going and then it’s hard to stop her.”

Front court success

The inability to contain Powell isn’t the only thing hampering opposing defenses. The Monarchs two other front court starters, Griffith and DeMya Walker, have also increased their scoring averages this season.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive and take what the defense gives to me,” Griffith said. “Each game I try to approach with a different attitude.”

Griffith, who ranks fourth in the WNBA in shooting percentage, has raised her scoring average from 14.5 to 16.4 points per game. She has also increased her rebounding and assists averages.

“Sometimes you aren’t going to be able to score all the time, so you have to be able to do other things,” she said. “If I can score, it’s ok, if I can’t, it’s ok, as long as I can do other things. I feel I am a quick, agile player and I have to try to take advantage of the bigger players who are slow.”

Walker is averaging 13 points per game, an increase of nearly five points per game from last season. She credits the Monarchs offensive success – second best in the WNBA - on their abundance of good outside shooters.

“It forces people to pick their poison,” she said. “They are so worried about our outside shooters. When they don’t focus on our shooters and they come down to guard us, we can pass the ball. It makes our lives easier.”

The best offense is a good defense

With the success of the Monarchs offense, it’s sometimes easy to forget they have one of the top defensive teams in the league. They lead the WNBA in fewest points allowed (64.4 per game) and are tied with the Detroit Shock for allowing the lowest opponent shooting percentage (38.6 percent).

Whisenant said he dedicates over half of each team practice to teaching his defensive strategies, which he has consistently used throughout his 30 years of coaching. He feels his current players are finally athletic enough and are putting in the proper effort to make the system work.

“I think everyone understands how important defense is for our success,” Powell said. “The offense will come and go, but you have to rely on your defense every night.”

Defensively the Monarchs have been able to limit some of the top players in the league. They held Los Angeles Sparks forward Lisa Leslie to a career-low three points on June 4 and Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catching to 2-for-11 shooting on June 7.

“They do a lot of triple-teaming,” said Leslie, the reigning league MVP. “They really pack it in inside and force other teammates to beat them.”

Sparks head coach Henry Bibby said Sacramento has the best defense he’s seen in the WNBA.

“They frustrate people and make you do things you don’t normally do,” he said. “They really help out and have a very good concept of defensive principals. They aren’t going to let you score a lot of baskets in the paint. They force you to shoot the basketball outside and make it tough for you inside.”

Whisenant said that while the defense may be dominating now, he expects opposing offenses to become more fluent as the season progresses.

The Monarchs defense will face their next challenge on Friday when they host the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx are led by guard Katie Smith, whose 20.2 points per game average is best in the WNBA.