NEW YORK – Tina Charles of the New York Liberty and Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Aug. 28-Sept. 3.

Charles was selected Player of the Week for the 28^th time in eight seasons, extending her WNBA record.  The 6-4 center earned seven Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive year.  She is only player in league history with that many awards in a single season.

Behind Charles, New York went 2-0 last week to extend its winning streak to 10 games and earn the No. 3 seed in the 2017 WNBA Playoffs presented by Verizon with a 22-12 record.  After receiving a first-round bye in the postseason, the Liberty will host a second-round, single-elimination game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Last week, Charles tied for sixth among East players in scoring (17.0 ppg), ranked third in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and was ninth in assists (3.0 apg).  The 2012 WNBA MVP opened her week with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists in just 25 minutes as New York defeated the visiting San Antonio Stars 81-69 on Sept. 1.  She closed the regular season with 18 points and 18 rebounds in an 82-81 road victory over the Dallas Wings on Sept. 3.

Griner was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season.  She raised her career total to five Player of the Week awards in five seasons.

Behind the 6-9 center, Phoenix went 2-0 for the week to finish the season at 18-16 and earn the No. 5 seed in the playoffs.  The Mercury will host the Seattle Storm in a first-round, single-elimination game on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Griner paced all WNBA players in scoring (30.5 ppg) for the week.  The two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year also ranked seventh among Western Conference players in field goal percentage (.625, 20-of-32), tied for eighth in rebounds (7.0 rpg) and was 10^th in free throw shooting (.875, 21-of-24).

On Sept. 1, the former Baylor star scored a team-high 31 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists in an 86-66 win against the visiting Connecticut Sun.  Two days later, she again paced the Mercury in scoring, posting 30 points in an 84-70 home victory over the Atlanta Dream.  Griner also registered six rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Brittney Sykes, the Chicago Sky’s Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot, Connecticut’s Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas, Dallas’ Skylar Diggins-Smith and Glory Johnson, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker, the Minnesota Lynx’s Maya Moore, New York’s Epiphanny Prince, Seattle’s Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart, and the Washington Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne.

For more information on the WNBA Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.

The 2017 WNBA regular season concluded on Sept. 3 and the playoffs begin on Sept. 6.  For more information on the WNBA and game tickets, fans may visit www.wnba.com.