NEW YORK – Jasmine Thomas of the Connecticut Sun and Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Sept. 12-18 – the final week of the 2016 regular season.

Thomas earned Player of the Week honors for the first time in her six-year career.  The former Duke University standout led the Sun to a 3-0 week as Connecticut finished the season 14-20.  For the season, Thomas ranked second in the WNBA in assists (5.1 apg).

Thomas paced all WNBA players in assists (7.3 apg) and tied for fourth among East players in scoring (16.3 ppg) last week.  She opened her week by matching her career high with 21 points and added six assists and five rebounds in an 89-87 victory against the visiting Indiana Fever on Sept. 13.  Three days later, Thomas notched 14 points and six assists in a 107-74 home win over the Dallas Wings.  On Sept. 18, Thomas tallied 14 points, tied her career best with 10 assists and grabbed six rebounds in an 87-78 road victory against the Washington Mystics.

Ogwumike earned Player of the Week honors for the sixth time this season and the 10^th time in her five-year career.  The former Stanford University standout recorded two double-doubles to lead Los Angeles (26-8) to a 2-0 week as the Sparks clinched a double-bye and the No. 2 seed for the WNBA Playoffs.  For the season, Ogwumike finished third in the league in scoring (19.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg).

Last week, the three-time All-Star ranked second in the league in scoring (20.5 ppg), tied for second in rebounding (10.0 rpg) and tied for sixth among West players in assists (4.0 apg).

On Sept. 13, Ogwumike finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 90-85 home win over the Phoenix Mercury.  She capped her week with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a 71-65 victory against the visiting San Antonio Stars on Sept. 16.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry, the Chicago Sky’s Tamera Young, the Wings’ Theresa Plaisance, the Minnesota Lynx’s Maya Moore and the Seattle Storm’s Breanna Stewart.

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

2016 WNBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week Ending    East Player                    Team                West Player               Team

5/22/16               Tina Charles                   New York         Maya Moore                Minnesota

5/29/16               Angel McCoughtry         Atlanta              Candace Parker         Los Angeles

6/5/16                 Tina Charles                   New York         Maya Moore                Minnesota

6/12/16               Emma Meesseman        Washington      Nneka Ogwumike       Los Angeles

6/19/16               Tina Charles                   New York         Candace Parker         Los Angeles

6/26/16               Tina Charles                   New York         Diana Taurasi              Phoenix

7/3/16                Tina Charles                   New York         Nneka Ogwumike       Los Angeles

7/10/16              Angel McCoughtry         Atlanta              Maya Moore                Minnesota

7/17/16              Elena Delle Donne         Chicago            Nneka Ogwumike       Los Angeles

7/22/16              Tina Charles                   New York         Nneka Ogwumike       Los Angeles

((Olympic Break from July 23 through Aug. 25))

9/4/16                Elena Delle Donne         Chicago            Nneka Ogwumike       Los Angeles

9/11/16              Tina Charles                   New York         Breanna Stewart         Seattle

9/18/16              Jasmine Thomas            Connecticut      Nneka Ogwumike       Los Angeles