Seattle’s Lauren Jackson and Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry Named WNBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week
, May 24, 2010 – Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm and Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream, were named the league’s Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors, respectively, for regular season games played Saturday, May 15 through Sunday, May 23. The top two scorers in the , Jackson and McCoughtry have positioned the Storm and Dream as the only remaining undefeated teams in the league.
This season marks the first time that Kia Motors, an official marketing partner of the , has presented the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week award.
Jackson’s record-tying 15th Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors award of her career moves her alongside legend Lisa Leslie for the most such honors in history.
By scoring in double figures in each outing, Jackson, a two-time Most Valuable Player, led the Storm to a 3-0 record and the top spot in the Western Conference while averaging 22 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2.3 steals per game.
Now in her 10th season, the native of Australia, opened the 2010 campaign with a double-double, logging 23 points and 10 rebounds, as well as three blocks and two steals in an 81-67 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Three days later, Jackson narrowly missed recording consecutive double-doubles when her 18-point, eight-rebound effort – along with four blocks – powered Seattle to a 79-76 win over the visiting Minnesota Lynx. Jackson closed out the week with a game-high 25 points as well as eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks to top the Mercury in overtime in Phoenix.
McCoughtry wins the first Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors award of her career after helping Atlanta to its best start in franchise history with a 4-0 mark that has the Dream atop the Eastern Conference. Also included in that mark are a win over the defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana Fever, and the Dream’s first ever win at Madison Square Garden.
McCoughtry averaged 21 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks in the first four games. Her 32 points against Connecticut were two shy of her career high. With an additional 10 rebounds and five assists in that game, McCoughtry became just the eighth player in history to record a 30-10-5 game and the first to do so since Candace Parker on July 9, 2008. McCoughtry has scored in double figures every game this season.
On opening day, McCoughtry, the 2009 Rookie of the Year, poured in 20 points while also excelling on the defensive end of the floor where she logged four steals and three blocked shots in a 75-70 win at San Antonio. Most recently, the University of Louisville product was an offensive force, logging 21 points and six assists in an 86-77 victory against the host New York Liberty on May 23.
Other candidates for Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors were Chicago’s Sylvia Fowles, Connecticut’s Tina Charles, Indiana’s Shay Murphy, Los Angeles’ DeLisha Milton-Jones, New York’s Cappie Pondexter, Phoenix’s DeWanna Bonner, San Antonio’s Michelle Snow, Tulsa’s Chante Black and Washington’s Monique Currie.
The Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors are part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” The series, currently in its second season, includes four of the ’s most prestigious year-end honors: Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Sixth Woman of the Year along with the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month. Kia Motors has been an official marketing partner of the since 2008.
Updated 05-25-2010
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