Washington's Langhorne and Seattle's Jackson Named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week

NEW YORK, June 28, 2010 � Crystal Langhorne of the Washington Mystics and Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm were named the league�s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors, respectively, for regular season games played Monday, June 21 through Sunday, June 27.

This marks the first season that Kia Motors, an official marketing partner of the WNBA, has presented the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week award.

Langhorne, who earned the first Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors award of her career after helping Washington to a 2-1 record, paced the league in scoring (27.7 ppg), ranked second in rebounding (12.3 rpg) and third in shooting percentage (.694 on 34 of 49 field goals). She also tied for sixth in the WNBA in steals with 2.67 per game.

The University of Maryland product and Willingboro, N.J. native opened the week with a career-high 27 points, season-high five steals and 14 rebounds in a win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Three days later, she closed out the week registering a new career-best of 31 points in win over the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury. In between, she recorded 25 points, 13 boards and two assists in a loss at Chicago. Those efforts lifted her to ninth overall in the league in scoring on the season (17.1 ppg). Highlights from Langhorne's 31-point night against the Mercury:



By winning the Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors award for the third time in the first six weeks of the 2010 season, Jackson extends her own WNBA record for such honors to 17, having surpassed Lisa Leslie for the top spot earlier this season. The Australian native also was selected as the Western Conference Player of the Month presented by Kia Motors for May.

This is Jackson's third Player of the Week honor of the season Shane Bevel/NBAE/Getty Images

A two-time winner of the WNBA Most Valuable Player award presented by Kia Motors, Jackson led Seattle to a 2-0 mark during the week that improved Seattle�s record to a league-leading 13-2. The league�s second leading scorer (20.8 ppg), Jackson netted 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 on three-pointers, in a win over Indiana. Jackson also contributed seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. She then closed out the week with her seventh game of 20-or-more points this season, a 24-point outing in a win at Tulsa.

Now in her 10th WNBA season, Jackson ranked second in the league in scoring (26.0 ppg) during the week, trailing only Langhorne. She also was the sixth most proficient shooter in the league in terms of both overall field goals (.607 on 17 of 28) and three-pointers (.700 on 7 of 10).

Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors were Atlanta�s Angel McCoughtry, Connecticut�s Tina Charles, Indiana's Katie Douglas, Los Angeles� Noelle Quinn, Minnesota's Rebekkah Brunson, New York's Nicole Powell, Phoenix�s Candice Dupree, San Antonio�s Becky Hammon and Tulsa�s Scholanda Robinson.

The WNBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors are part of a series of on-court performance awards called "The WNBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors." The series, currently in its second season, includes four of the WNBA'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 WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month. Kia Motors has been an official marketing partner of the WNBA since 2008.

For more information on this week's Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors winners, visit www.wnba.com/awards.