New York's Cappie Pondexter and Los Angeles' Tina Thompson Named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week
 Cappie Pondexter and Tina Thompson share Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row NBAE/Getty Images |
NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2010 � Cappie Pondexter of the New York Liberty and Tina Thompson of the Los Angeles Sparks were named the WNBA�s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors, respectively, for games played August 16-22. Pondexter and Thompson also earned the honor last week for games played Aug. 9-15.
This marks the first season that Kia Motors � an official WNBA marketing partner � has presented the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week award.
Pondexter ranked second in league in scoring, averaging 22.0 points, while leading the Liberty to a 3-1 record during the last week of the season. She led her team in scoring and steals (1.5 spg) and tied Leilani Mitchell (4.8 apg) for the team lead in assists.
 Cappie Pondexter helped lead the Liberty to a 3-1 record during the last week of the season Nathaniel S. Butler |
Pondexter shot 50.8 percent from the field and 90 percent from the stripe. In the Liberty�s season finale on Aug. 22 against the Connecticut Sun, she recorded her fifth 30-point performance of the season and her 20th game with more than 20 points. In the same game, Pondexter scored six of the team�s eight points in overtime to secure the win and the Liberty�s second-place position.
In the Western Conference, Thompson won the award for the second time this season and the sixth time in her career. Last week marked her first Player of the Week honor as a member of the Sparks after previously winning the honor four times with the Houston Comets. For the week, Thompson led the league in scoring, averaging 26.3 points over three games for the Sparks.
Although the Sparks dropped two of their three games this week, Los Angeles edged out Minnesota for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Thompson�s week was highlighted by a 33-point, 7-rebound effort in a loss to Phoenix and by a 26-point, 9-rebound performance in a win over Minnesota.
Thompson is the only player remaining in the WNBA from its inaugural season in 1997 when she was selected with the first overall pick of the draft. On Aug. 8, she surpassed Lisa Leslie�s all-time scoring record of 6,263 points against the San Antonio Silver Stars. She now has 6,413 points for her career.
Other candidates for WNBA Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors were San Antonio�s Sophia Young and Phoenix�s Kara Braxton.
The WNBA Western and Eastern Conference Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors are part of a series of oncourt 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 WNBA marketing partner since 2008.
For more information on this week's Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors winners, visit www.wnba.com/awards.