NEW YORK – Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky and Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played June 15 through June 21.

For Delle Donne, a two-time All-Star selection and the 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the Player of the Week award is the seventh of her career and the second in a row to start the 2015 season.  She averaged a league-best 27.0 ppg during the week, helping Chicago to a 1-1 mark.  For the season, Delle Donne ranks atop the league in scoring at 29.3 ppg.  Through six games, Delle Donne’s scoring pace is 9.1 ppg more than the current No. 2 scorer, DeWanna Bonner of the Phoenix Mercury (20.2 ppg), and 4.0 ppg higher than the WNBA’s single-season record of 25.3 ppg, set by Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi in 2006.

For the week, Delle Donne also led all Eastern Conference players in rebounding (11.5 rpg), shared the top spot in free throw percentage (1.000, 11-of-11), and ranked fourth in both field goal percentage (.553, 21-of-38) and blocks (2.0 bpg).

The University of Delaware product has been the leading scorer in all six of her games this season, tallying at least 24 points in every contest.  She also has pulled down at least eight rebounds in all but one game.  Delle Donne opened the week with 26 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in a 74-73 loss at Atlanta and followed that up with 28 points, a season-high 13 boards, and a season-high-tying four blocks in a 95-87 victory over San Antonio.

For Diggins, who was selected by Tulsa with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm (one spot behind Delle Donne), the Player of the Week honor is the second of her career and her first of the season.  The 2014 All-Star helped guide the 6-1 Shock to the top spot in the Western Conference.  For the week, the third-year pro paced the conference in field goal percentage (.700, 7-of-10), was tied for third in scoring (17.7 ppg), and ranked third in assists (5.3 apg), as Tulsa went a perfect 3-0.  The victories stretched Tulsa’s current win streak to six games, the longest such streak since the Shock moved to Tulsa from Detroit in 2010.

Diggins capped her week with a stellar effort in Tulsa’s 86-78 win at Minnesota, handing the Lynx its first home loss of the season.  After both teams entered the game with identical 5-1 records, the star guard poured in a season-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, while also dishing out eight assists and recording two steals.

The Notre Dame product had opened the week with 13 points, three boards, three assists, and a pair of blocks in an 88-61 victory over the visiting San Antonio Stars.  Diggins followed up that performance with a 14-point, five-assist, three-rebound effort in Tulsa’s 86-82 road win over the Washington Mystics, who had entered the game with a 3-1 record.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Connecticut’s Alex Bentley and Kelsey Bone, Minnesota’s Maya Moore, Tulsa’s Courtney Paris, and Washington’s Emma Meesseman.

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