Homecoming Queens Monarchs. When the 2005 WNBA champion Sacramento Monarchs visit the Phone Booth tonight (7 PM tip-off), two of the players in purple may look familiar to the local D.C. fans. Guard Kara Lawson grew up in the Virginia suburbs (yes, we know she played Pee Wee football) and played at West Springfield High School before heading to Knoxville to play her college ball with Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols. Forward Rebekkah Brunson was born and raised in the D.C. Metroplitan area (Oxon Hill) and starred for the Hoyas at Georgetown University.

Neither Kara nor Becky has any problem filling her free time when she's not busy playing in the WNBA. For the last two offseasons, Kara has been working as a television commentator for the Sacramento Kings, and the BasketCases have loved Kara's commentary on ESPN during the women's college basketball season. Becky, in addition to playing basketball in Belgium, has managed to find time to launch the 32 Foundation, a non-profit organization located in Maryland that serves the D.C. area. The goals of "32" are to provide academic and athletic enrichment programs, to award scholarships, and to initiate programs to spur amateur play and mentoring of at-risk teens. Both Kara and Becky are clearly more than just talented on the court!

Until the Terps' Season-of-the-Natty this year, the "fun-est" basketball season the BasketCases have ever had was Kara's senior year in high school when she led the West Springfield Spartans to the Virginia State Championship. Kara was absolutely amazing! Our official Spartan sweat-soaked rally-towel is still enshrined in the BasketCases' Hall of Fame. [But we're sorry Kara, as much as we wish you well, don't expect to see us waving it for you tonight --- we love you, but we are Mystics fans through and through.]

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Photo Credit: http://sportspagemagazine.com/images/WNBA/2006/whitehouse/WhiteHouseVisit-118.html