Auburn Hills, MI - Defense of Detroit’s 2006 WNBA Championship begins Saturday, May 19 vs. the Sacramento Monarchs at 3 p.m., but not before league president Donna Orender presents the Shock with their championship rings and the team raises its second championship banner to the rafters at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Doors open at 2 p.m.

Also receiving a championship ring is local Shock fan Robyn Gray (14) of Redford, Michigan. Gray’s father, Robert, entered the Shock’s Championship Ring Contest during the offseason, and his name was randomly selected among hundreds of entries. When notified that he had won the contest, the elder Gray opted to have the ring engraved for his daughter. The Gray family will be in attendance at Saturday’s game and will be available to speak with the media prior to and following the ceremony.

Final preparations for Saturday’s game were made Friday afternoon as the Shock trimmed its roster to 11 active players. To do so, the team waived guard/forward Jacqueline Batteast. Batteast was originally drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in the second round of the 2005 WNBA Draft. The Lynx traded her to Detroit on April 5, 2006 in exchange for the draft rights to Ambrosia Anderson. She was a member of Detroit’s 2006 WNBA Championship team seeing action in 26 games and averaging 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds.

Click here to view the Shock roster