WNBA.com: Seattle’s Lauren Jackson Named Player of The Week

Seattle’s Lauren Jackson Named Player of The Week

NEW YORK, July 19 – Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm was named the WNBA Player of the Week for games played Monday, July 12 through Sunday, July 18.

Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm
Jackson averaged 25.3 points on 63.2 percent shooting from the field, including a perfect 6-of-6 from three-point range, to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 2.00 blocked shots per game in the Storm’s 3-0 week, which saw them move to within a half game of front-running Los Angeles. Jackson took over the league scoring lead from Washington’s Chamique Holdsclaw over the weekend, and is now averaging 20.8 points per game. She also leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (47.4) and ranks 10th in rebounds per game (7.0), second in blocks (1.90), sixth in field goal percentage (48.0) and 10th in minutes played (34.0). Jackson has now scored in double figures in 73 consecutive games – the second longest streak in WNBA history.

Jackson began the week against San Antonio on July 12 by scoring 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds in the Storm’s 75-59 win. She also became the youngest player in WNBA history to score 2,000 career points.

Three days later, the 2003 WNBA MVP scored 18-point, grabbed six rebounds and picked up four steals in a three-point win at Sacramento.

Closing out the week, Jackson topped the 30-point plateau for the third time this season and the sixth time in her career. She added five rebounds and four blocked shots while hitting 11-of-17 shots from the field in Seattle’s 85-83 overtime win over Washington on July 17.

Other candidates for WNBA Player of the Week were Charlotte’s Kelly Mazzante, Houston’s Tina Thompson, Indiana’s Kelly Miller, Minnesota’s Katie Smith, New York’s Elena Baranova, Phoenix’s Penny Taylor and Washington’s Chamique Holdsclaw.

Ratings for ABC’s and ESPN2’s telecasts of WNBA games are up 29 and 25 percent respectively from a year ago. The season-opening telecast featuring the Phoenix Mercury at the Connecticut Sun was the highest rated WNBA game (regular season or playoffs) ever on ABC, and the July 11 telecast featuring the Mercury at the New York Liberty was the highest rated WNBA regular season game ever on ESPN2.