NEW YORK – Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever and Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played June 29 through July 5.

Catchings, a nine-time All-Star selection and the 2011 WNBA MVP, earned her first Player of the Week award of the season and league-record 22^nd of her career.  Now in her 14^th active season with the Fever, she led Indiana to a 2-0 week with wins over the top two teams in the Eastern Conference – the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics.

The 35-year-old Catchings led the Eastern Conference in field goal percentage (.714, 15-of-21) and was second in three-point shooting accuracy (.800, 4-of-5).  She also ranked fourth among conference players in scoring (20.5 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.5 rpg), and 11^th in assists (3.5 apg).

Catchings opened the week with 26 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in a 92-84 win at Connecticut.  She made her first six field goal attempts and finished 9-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from three-point range.  During the game, she also became just the fourth player in WNBA history to record 3,000 career rebounds.

The University of Tennessee product followed that up with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals as the Fever defeated visiting Washington 73-50 on July 2 to improve to 5-6.

For Ogwumike, a two-time All-Star and the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the Player of the Week honor is her first of the season and the fourth of her career.  The fourth-year player helped the Sparks to a 2-1 week as Los Angeles notched consecutive victories over the San Antonio Stars and Tulsa Shock for their first wins of the season, before falling in overtime to the Phoenix Mercury.

For the week, the Stanford University product ranked second in the Western Conference in scoring (24.0 ppg), while pacing the West in rebounding (12.3 rpg) and tying for second in steals (1.67 spg).

Oguwmike opened the week with 27 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals in an 86-81 win over San Antonio.  She then contributed consecutive double-doubles with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals in a 98-95 victory over Tulsa, and 26 points, 19 rebounds, and two assists in a 94-91 overtime loss to visiting Phoenix.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry, Chicago’s Elena Delle Donne and Courtney Vandersloot, Connecticut’s Alex Bentley, Los Angeles’ Kristi Toliver, Minnesota’s Maya Moore, New York’s Tina Charles, and Phoenix’s Brittney Griner.

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

7/6/15                Tamika Catchings           Indiana             Nneka Ogwumike        Los Angeles