Liberty’s Epiphanny Prince, Lynx’s Maya Moore named WNBA Players of the Week

NEW YORK Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty and Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Aug. 10 through Aug. 16.

Prince earned the third Player of the Week honor of her career and her first since joining her hometown Liberty this season.  This also marks the third time in four weeks that a Liberty player won the Eastern Conference award (Tina Charles was honored in weeks six and seven).

A two-time All-Star, Prince helped New York post a 2-1 record for the week as the Liberty improved to 16-7 (.696) and maintained its grip on first place in the Eastern Conference.  The sixth-year pro from Rutgers University ranked second in the conference in steals (3.33 spg), third in scoring (18.0 ppg), seventh in assists (4.3 apg), and 10th in field goal percentage (.488 on 20-of-41 shooting).

Prince opened the week with a game-high 22 points to go with three steals and two assists in an 84-63 home win over the Chicago Sky on Aug. 11.  She followed that up with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and a career-best six steals in a 90-78 win over the host Connecticut Sun on Aug. 14.  Prince closed the week with nine points, five assists, and two rebounds in a 81-76 home loss to the Tulsa Shock on Aug. 15.

Moore, the Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star Game 2015 MVP, won Western Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time in five weeks and the 14th time in her career.

The fifth-year pro from the University of Connecticut led the WNBA in scoring (26.7 ppg) as she helped league-best Minnesota (18-7, .720) finish 2-1 for the week.  Among Western Conference players, the 2014 WNBA MVP presented by Samsung ranked third in steals (1.67 spg), tied for sixth in rebounds (7.0 rpg), seventh in assists (4.3 apg), and eighth in free throw percentage (.889, 24-of-27).

Moore led all scorers in two of her three games, starting with a 32-point effort in an 83-76 win over the San Antonio Stars on Aug. 11, when she also contributed nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals.  She also topped all scorers in an 84-82 win at the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 14, pouring in a season-high 36 points and adding five assists, four rebounds, and two steals as the Lynx overcame a 16-point third-quarter deficit.  Moore then capped her week with 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in a 77-69 road loss to the Washington Mystics on Aug. 16.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry, Chicago’s Elena Delle Donne, the Connecticut Sun’s Alex Bentley, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Candace Parker, Tulsa’s Odyssey Sims, and Washington’s Ivory Latta.

For more information on this week’s Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.

2015 WNBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week Ending    East Player                    Team                West Player                Team

6/14/15              Elena Delle Donne          Chicago            DeWanna Bonner       Phoenix

6/21/15              Elena Delle Donne          Chicago            Skylar Diggins             Tulsa

6/28/15              Elena Delle Donne          Chicago            Lindsay Whalen          Minnesota

7/5/15                Tamika Catchings           Indiana             Nneka Ogwumike        Los Angeles

7/12/15              Cappie Pondexter           Chicago            Maya Moore                Minnesota

7/19/15              Tina Charles                   New York          Maya Moore                Minnesota

8/2/15                Tina Charles                   New York          Maya Moore                Minnesota

8/9/15                Elena Delle Donne          Chicago            Brittney Griner             Phoenix

8/16/15              Epiphanny Prince           New York          Maya Moore                Minnesota