NEW YORK – Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Samsung, respectively, for games played in August.

The Eastern and Western Conference Player of the Month awards, as well as the WNBA Rookie of the Month, are presented by Samsung and are part of the larger WNBA Performance Awards presented by Samsung program.  This marks the second consecutive season that Samsung, an official WNBA marketing partner, will present the WNBA’s highest individual honors, including the WNBA Most Valuable Player, WNBA Most Improved Player, WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Prince, who was the Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice in August, earned the first Player of the Month award of her six-year career.  The two-time All-Star helped guide the Liberty to a league-best 8-2 record for the month as WNBA-leading New York (now 21-8) clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2012.

The Rutgers University product paced all Eastern Conference players in steals (2.6 spg) in August, tied for second in assists (4.2 apg), and ranked fifth in scoring (17.8 ppg).  She also finished fourth in field goal percentage (.527, 68-of-129) and free throw shooting (.939, 31-of-33).

Prince scored 15 points or more in seven of 10 games for the month, including three consecutive outings with at least 22 points.  She tallied a season-high 30 points and added five assists in a 77-63 victory at the Chicago Sky on Aug. 7, followed by a 22-point performance four days later in an 84-63 win over the Sky at Madison Square Garden.  Prince next scored 23 points and contributed seven rebounds, a season-high six assists, and a career-high six steals as the Liberty defeated the host Connecticut Sun 90-78 on Aug. 14.

Additional highlights of Prince’s play in August included:

• Aug. 21 vs. Atlanta: 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a 78-67 win
• Aug. 28 vs. Minnesota: 22 points, four rebounds, and two assists in an 81-68 victory
• Aug. 29 at Connecticut: 18 points, four assists, and four steals in an 80-66 win

For Parker, the Western Conference Player of the Month presented by Samsung is her first of the season and fifth of her career.  The two-time league MVP paced the West in rebounds (10.5 rpg), assists (6.3 apg), and steals (2.33 spg) during the month, and ranked second in blocks (2.0 bpg) and third in scoring (17.3 ppg).  She also finished 10^th in field goal percentage (.451, 79-of-175).

Behind the eighth-year pro from the University of Tennessee, the Sparks posted an 8-4 record in August, tops among Western Conference teams.  Parker has helped the Sparks engineer a significant turnaround since rejoining the team at midseason.  Los Angeles is 9-5 since her season debut on July 29 after a 3-13 start.

Parker registered 11 double-doubles in 12 games in August, scored at least 20 points five times, and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 10 outings.  She fell just shy of a triple-double on four occasions, starting with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in an 85-77 loss at the Seattle Storm on Aug. 11, followed by 21 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists in a 76-64 victory over the visiting Chicago Sky on Aug. 16.  She also flirted with a triple-double on Aug. 23, finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists in a 90-59 win at the San Antonio Stars, and nearly recorded one on Aug. 26 at Indiana, where she tallied 15 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in an 81-79 victory over the Fever.

Additional highlights of Parker’s play in August included:

• 18 vs. Indiana: 25 points, 10 rebounds, eight steals, and six assists in a 79-68 loss
• 28 at Tulsa: 24 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and three blocks in a 76-66 loss

For more information on this year’s WNBA Performance Awards presented by Samsung, visit www.wnba.com/awards.

2015 WNBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG WINNERS

Month             East Player                    Team              West Player                      Team
June                Elena Delle Donne         Chicago           Skylar Diggins                   Tulsa
July                  Tina Charles                   New York        Maya Moore                      Minnesota
August             Epiphanny Prince           New York        Candace Parker                Los Angeles

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology.  A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA delivers a broad range of digital consumer electronics, mobile products and wearables, wireless infrastructure, IT and home appliance products. Samsung is the market leader for HDTVs in the U.S and one of America’s fastest growing home appliance brand. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies, redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. We are also leading in the Internet of Things space through, among others, our Smart Home and Digital Health initiatives. We employ 307,000 people across 84 countries with annual sales of US $196 billion. To discover more, please visit our official website at www.samsung.com and our official blog at global.samsungtomorrow.com.