NEW YORK – Tina Charles of the New York Liberty and Nneka Ogwumike 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 June.  Charles earned her second consecutive Player of the Month honor and her seventh overall, tying Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx for the most since the award’s inception in 2010.  For Ogwumike, the Player of the Month award is the first of her career.

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 third 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.

Charles, the 2012 WNBA MVP and a four-time WNBA All-Star, led the WNBA in scoring (21.7 ppg) and ranked second overall – tops in the Eastern Conference – in rebounding (8.9 rpg) and assists (5.1 apg) in June.  Charles guided New York to a 9-2 mark during the month, second in the league only to Los Angeles (10-1), by tallying 20 or more points in each of her final seven games, including two 30-point outings.

The University of Connecticut product began the month with 14 points and nine rebounds in a 91-59 win over Indiana on June 3, followed by 19 points and 13 boards in an 86-78 victory at Seattle two days later.  She then began her stretch of 20-point scoring efforts on June 11 in a 90-75 win at San Antonio, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and followed that with a game-high 28 points in a 91-88 win over Dallas on June 14.

Charles scored a season-high 32 points in an 80-72 win at Connecticut on June 16.  She then recorded a double-double with 26 points and 15 rebounds, to go along with six assists, in a 78-75 road win over Indiana. Three days later, Charles came within one rebound of posting a triple-double as she tallied 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a 90-79 win at Atlanta.

Additional highlights of Charles’ play in May included:

• June 24 vs. Chicago: 21 points and 13 rebounds in an 80-79 victory

• June 26 vs. Phoenix: 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 104-97 overtime loss

Ogwumike, the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year and a three-time WNBA All-Star, led all WNBA players in field goal percentage (.733, 85-of-116) and guided Los Angeles to a league-best 10-1 mark during June.  She also paced all Western Conference players in scoring (19.7 ppg), was second in rebounding (8.2 rpg) and ranked fourth in blocks (1.36 bpg).

During the month, Ogwumike set two WNBA records for consecutive field goals made.  After opening June with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 68-61 win vs. San Antonio on June 2, she posted a record-setting performance in a 97-73 win at Dallas on June 11.  Ogwumike recorded game highs of 32 points and 10 rebounds while setting a WNBA mark for most field goals made without a miss (12, topping the previous record of 11 set by Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus on June 8, 2007).  Three days later, Ogwumike recorded 27 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in a 98-85 defeat of Chicago.  It was during that game that Ogwumike set a WNBA record for consecutive made field goals overall, hitting her 23rd straight over a span of three games that began June 7 against New York.

The Stanford University product closed out the month with a pair of game-high scoring efforts over her final three contests, first tallying 27 points and seven rebounds on June 26 in an 80-73 home win against Connecticut.  She then posted a career-high 38 points to go along with 11 boards in an 84-75 defeat of visiting Atlanta on June 30.

Additional highlights of Ogwumike’s play in June included:

• June 7 vs. New York: 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in a 100-77 win
• June 24 at Minnesota: 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists in a 94-76 victory

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

2016 WNBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG WINNERS

Month             East Player                    Team              West Player                      Team

May                 Tina Charles                   New York        Maya Moore                      Minnesota

June                Tina Charles                   New York        Nneka Ogwumike              Los Angeles

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, N.J., Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovative leader in consumer electronics, mobile devices and enterprise solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA is pushing beyond the limits of today’s technology and providing consumers and organizations with a portfolio of groundbreaking products in appliances, home entertainment, Internet of Things, mobile computing, smartphones, virtual reality, wireless infrastructure and wearables, in addition to offering leading content and services related to mobile payments, 360-degree VR video, customer support and more. Samsung is a pioneering leader in smartphones and HDTVs in the U.S. and one of America’s fastest growing home appliance brands. To discover more about Samsung, please visit www.samsung.com. For the latest Samsung news, please visit news.samsung.com/us and follow us @SamsungNewsUS.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.

About the WNBA
The WNBA, which features 12 teams, is a unique global sports property combining competition, sportsmanship, and entertainment with its status as an icon for social change, achievement, and diversity.  The league, which counts Verizon as its leaguewide marquee partner, began its 20^th season on May 14, 2016.

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.