NEW YORK – Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm, who led all first-year players in scoring this season, has been named the 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year presented by Samsung, the WNBA announced today.  The 5-10 guard is the first player to win the award with the Storm in the franchise’s 16 seasons.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, Loyd received 21 votes from a national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters.  New York Liberty center Kiah Stokes finished second with 16 votes and Indiana Fever center Natalie Achonwa was third with two votes.

Loyd averaged rookie highs of 10.7 points and 25.9 minutes, putting her second on the Storm in both categories, and added 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 34 games (23 starts).  Her 90.4 free throw percentage was tops among rookies and placed her fourth in the league.

The former Notre Dame star improved her scoring and field goal percentage every month of the season.  In July, Loyd averaged 10.5 points (up from 8.1 in June) and shot 40.5 percent from the field (up from 34.1 in June) to earn the WNBA Rookie of the Month award presented by Samsung.  She then averaged 12.2 points on 44.0 percent shooting in August and 13.6 points on 48.1 percent shooting in September.

Loyd scored in double digits 18 times, including 10 such performances in her final 13 games.  On Aug. 30, Loyd set a franchise record for made free throws without a miss (14-for-14) and finished with 18 points to go with five rebounds and two assists as the Storm defeated the Washington Mystics 69-59.  Two games later, in a 93-65 loss to the Chicago Sky, she matched her career high with 21 points and contributed a career-high seven rebounds.

This year marks the second season that Samsung, an official WNBA marketing partner, is serving as the presenting partner of the WNBA’s highest individual honors.  The WNBA Performance Awards presented by Samsung program includes the WNBA Most Valuable Player, WNBA Most Improved Player, WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, WNBA Rookie of the Year, and the WNBA Players of the Month and Rookie of the Month awards.

In honor of being named the 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year presented by Samsung, Loyd will receive $5,000 and a specially designed trophy by Tiffany & Co.

Below are the complete results of the 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year presented by Samsung voting, followed by a list of previous winners:

2015 WNBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG VOTING RESULTS

21           Jewell Loyd                       Seattle Storm
16           Kiah Stokes                       New York Liberty
2             Natalie Achonwa               Indiana Fever

WNBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG ALL-TIME WINNERS

2015         Jewell Loyd                          Seattle Storm
2014         Chiney Ogwumike             Connecticut Sun
2013         Elena Delle Donne             Chicago Sky
2012         Nneka Ogwumike               Los Angeles Sparks
2011          Maya Moore                          Minnesota Lynx
2010          Tina Charles                         Connecticut Sun
2009          Angel McCoughtry            Atlanta Dream
2008          Candace Parker                  Los Angeles Sparks
2007          Armintie Price                     Chicago Sky
2006          Seimone Augustus             Minnesota Lynx
2005          Temeka Johnson                Washington Mystics
2004          Diana Taurasi                       Phoenix Mercury
2003          Cheryl Ford                           Detroit Shock
2002          Tamika Catchings               Indiana Fever
2001          Jackie Stiles                            Portland Fire
2000          Betty Lennox                         Minnesota Lynx
1999          Chamique Holdsclaw          Washington Mystics
1998          Tracy Reid                                Charlotte Sting

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, IT and home appliance products. Samsung is the market leader for HDTVs in the U.S and America’s fastest growing home appliance brands. To discover more of the award-winning products you love with Samsung, 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 319,000 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.

About the WNBA
The WNBA – which features 12 teams and is the most successful women’s professional team sports league in the world – is a unique global sports property combining competition, sportsmanship, and entertainment value with its status as an icon for social change, achievement, and diversity.  The league, which counts Boost Mobile as its leaguewide marquee partner, concluded its 19^th regular season on Sept. 13, 2015.

Through WNBA Cares, the WNBA is deeply committed to creating programs that improve the quality of life for all people, with a special emphasis on programs that promote a healthy lifestyle and positive body image, increase breast and women’s health awareness, support youth and family development, and focus on education.  For more information on the WNBA, log on to www.wnba.com.