The Monarchs acquired former Western Kentucky standout Crystal Kelly on May 18 and she immediately earned playing time in her first three Monarchs road games. The former Hilltopper was drafted by the Houston Comets with the 31st overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft but was subsequently waived on May 15. Now, get to know more about the Louisville native!

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As the all-time leader in points (2,803), rebounds (1,258) and field goal percentage (.617), how would you sum up your outstanding collegiate career at Western Kentucky?
Crystal Kelly: "It ended perfectly, winning the Sun Belt. Well, not perfect, but we met our goal. We went to the NCAA Tournament and that�s what we wanted to do. It was so fun. I don�t think those records would have meant as much if I had a different team. I loved my team and I wanted to do my best for my team. I�m a post, so I can�t get the ball to myself, so they really helped out a lot. I just made so many good relationships there. I don�t regret my decision to go there at all. I loved everything about it."

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What is a Hilltopper?
"Well, freshman year you have all your classes on top of this big hill and it�s the worst thing ever! That�s why I picked Public Relations, because all the classes are down in the valley! Just kidding, I love Public Relations. That�s pretty much it, we have that hill, and then Big Red�s our mascot. No one really knows what Big Red is, but I love him."

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What did it mean to you to have your jersey number 42 retired while you were still there?
Kelly: "Wow, yeah, apparently that�s not very common! It was really special, just in that people respect me that much. That�s huge to have something like that. I don�t think I�ve really let it set in. It is such a great honor, that�s always going to be there-my name, my jersey up there. I appreciate it now, but 20 years down the road when I go back and look, I think it�ll be really special."

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What's it like to go from the excitement of being drafted to being waived?
Kelly: "It�s different when you�re used to being hyped up and then you have that happen. This league is so competitive. Everyone is good. Everyone that�s coming in is a star player from their school. It�s a different level of intensity. When I got waived, it was such a letdown. I came here and I think that everything happens for a reason. This is such a great franchise. We have great vets and the rookies are amazing. We all have so much talent and I think that I have a really good setup here and I think it�s a really good place for me."

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What�s your favorite food?
Kelly: "I LOVE burritos. They're so good, especially queso chicken burritos. I seriously have yet to meet a kind of food that I don�t like."

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What's a fun-fact about you?
Kelly: "I went to school originally for photo journalism. I took it in high school and did an independent study and I loved it. I just love to shoot in black and white, developing the pictures in the dark room. I don�t think people know that about me. I love sleeping, too. That�s my all-time favorite thing to do."

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So your first major at Western Kentucky was photography?
Kelly: "Yeah, but I had to change it because it�s so time-consuming and we were on the road so much. I wanted to do well in it and I wasn�t able to do my best so I changed to Public Relations, but I still got to take some of the classes, which was good. When I can, I still like to take pictures, but I�ve gotten away from it because I�ve been so busy."

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What do you like to do when you are on the road?
Kelly: "Shop. We go to all these big cities and some places I�ve never been to before. It�s fun just to go out by yourself and go sightseeing and just do different things. You know, just get pretty and look for food. (Laughs) I�ve been on one road trip but it will be fun to shop and do things I�ve never done before."

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Can you give us a scouting report on your game?
Kelly: "I hate talking about myself! I mean, I�m undersized. I�m a post and I love to get in there and bang. I think I�m pretty strong for my size. I�m a scorer. I�ll give myself that. Score or I try to draw a foul -- I�m good at that."

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What�s your defensive mentality?
Kelly: "I want to take a charge. You get the ball right back. I LOVE to take charges and I�m pretty good at it. I�ve gotten two so far in three games. My goal is to take one every two games."

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How would you determine the season a success for the team this year?
Kelly: "We�re so talented. One goal is to just have chemistry. It�s different because there are so many games in the season and I think we�re going to be so good. I think we can reach the playoffs. I think we�re really underestimated. When it gets down to that point we can really show off and get our name back where it should be."

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What do the two tattoos on your wrists represent?
Kelly: "The star on my left wrist, me and my two college teammates got together. It was just one of those nights in college that we went out and got it. We all still have it so it�s kind of special and we�re all still close. The one on my right wrist is the Serenity Prayer � �God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, courage to change the things that I can and wisdom to know the difference.� So when you really think about it, it�s really true. You shouldn�t even think about things you can�t control because it overwhelms you. Everything will take care of itself and everything happens for a reason, so there is no sense in worrying about it. It�s really special to me. Every time I�m freaking out I can just think about the prayer and it calms me down."

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What would you like to say to Monarchs fans?
Kelly: "I�m excited about meeting you! I haven�t played in a home game yet. I�m excited to play at home. I think my mom might come. I�m just really excited to meet everyone, I can�t wait. I�m trying to just get a bigger family, more and more people coming to our games."

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