Liberty’s Epiphanny Prince, Lynx’s Sylvia Fowles named WNBA Players of the Week

NEW YORK – Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty and Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played May 22-28.

Prince earned Player of the Week honors for the fifth time in her eight-year career. With the Liberty going 1-1 for the week, Prince ranked third among Eastern Conference players in scoring (21.5 ppg), tied for fourth in assists (4.5 apg) and tied for sixth in field goal percentage (.533, 16-of-30).

The 5-9 guard opened her week on May 23 by scoring 24 points, including the game-winning jumper with 4.5 seconds left to play, in a 69-67 victory at the Phoenix Mercury. Prince was 10-of-14 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. In her final game of the week, the Rutgers University product tallied 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds in an 87-81 road loss to the Seattle Storm on May 26.

Fowles earned Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week and for the ninth time in her 10-year career. She paced Western Conference players in rebounding (11.3 rpg) and ranked second in blocks (2.7 bpg), third in scoring (18.3 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage (.656, 21-of-32) and tied for fourth in steals (2.0 spg). Fowles, who recorded two double-doubles, led Minnesota to a 3-0 mark as the Lynx extended its May winning streak to 23 games dating to 2012.

On May 23, the LSU product posted game highs of 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots to go with four assists and three steals as Minnesota defeated the visiting Connecticut Sun 80-78. Three days later, in a rematch at Connecticut, she led the Lynx with 20 points and added nine rebounds and two steals in an 82-68 victory. The 6-6 center closed her week with a 14-point, 12-rebound effort in an 80-66 win over the visiting San Antonio Stars on May 28, pacing Minnesota in scoring for the fourth straight game.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Atlanta Dream’s Tiffany Hayes, Connecticut’s Jonquel Jones, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Chelsea Gray and Nneka Ogwumike, Phoenix’s Brittney Griner, Seattle’s Breanna Stewart and Samantha Whitcomb, and the Washington Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne.

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