NEW YORK – Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty and Odyssey Sims of the Tulsa Shock were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Aug. 24 through Aug. 30.

Prince earned the fourth Player of the Week honor of her career and her second since joining her hometown Liberty this season.  This also marks the fourth time in six weeks that a Liberty player won the Eastern Conference award, with Tina Charles honored in weeks six and seven and Prince selected in week nine.

A two-time All-Star, Prince helped New York post a 2-0 record for the week and improve to a league-best 20-8 (.714) overall.  The sixth-year pro from Rutgers University led the Eastern Conference in scoring (20.0 ppg), was tied for second in steals (2.0 spg), ranked fifth in field goal percentage (.586 on 17-of-29 shooting), and tied for seventh in assists (3.0 apg).  She was New York’s leading scorer in both games.

Prince began her week by recording 22 points, four rebounds, and two assists as the host Liberty defeated the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Lynx 81-68 on Aug. 28 to clinch its first playoff berth since 2012.  She followed that performance the next day with 18 points, four assists, and four steals in an 80-66 win over the host Connecticut Sun.  Prince had eight points in the fourth quarter, when the Liberty outscored the Sun 23-9.

For Sims, the Player of the Week honor is the first of her two-year career.  She led Tulsa to a 2-0 week as the Shock extended its winning streak to five games, improved to 15-14 (.517) overall, and clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2009.

Sims, the No. 2 selection in the 2014 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, ranked second in the West in scoring (22.5 ppg) and tied for second in assists (4.5 apg) during the week.  She also was tied for fourth in the conference in steals (1.5 spg) and ranked sixth in field goal percentage (.480 on 12-of-25 shooting).

The Baylor University product and 2014 WNBA All-Rookie Team selection opened her week with 15 points, four assists, three steals, and two rebounds in a 76-66 home win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 28.  Sims then scored a season-high 30 points and added five assists in the playoff-clinching 76-70 victory over the visiting Indiana Fever on Aug. 30, shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free throw line.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry, the Chicago Sky’s Courtney Vandersloot, the Fever’s Tamika Catchings, the Sparks’ Candace Parker, the Liberty’s Charles, and the Seattle Storm’s Crystal Langhorne.

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
8/23/15               Elena Delle Donne         Chicago            Candace Parker         Los Angeles
8/30/15               Epiphanny Prince           New York         Odyssey Sims            Tulsa