New York's Cappie Pondexter and Seattle's Sue Bird Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week

Cappie Pondexter and Sue Bird were named Players of the Week Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images

NEW YORK, July 11, 2011 � Cappie Pondexter of the New York Liberty and Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm were named the WNBA�s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for regular season games played Tuesday, July 5 through Sunday, July 10.

Pondexter ranked second in the Eastern Conference in scoring (19.0 ppg) and assists (5.5 apg) while leading the Liberty to a 2-0 record. She also tied for first in free-throw percentage, going 7-for 7, and ranked third in steals (3.50 spg) and three-point field goal percentage on 5-for-8 shooting (.625). This marks her second Player of the Week award in 2011 and the 12th in her six seasons, which ranks fourth all time.

On July 8, in a 76-73 road-win over the Western Conference-leading San Antonio Silver Stars, Pondexter showcased her all-around ability with 20 points, seven assists, and established personal season highs with nine rebounds and four steals. Two days later, Pondexter, scored 18 points, dished out four assists and had three steals in an 80-73 victory over the Chicago Sky.

This season, Pondexter is averaging 18.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals.

For the week, Bird led the Storm to a 1-1 record and finished second in the league in assists (6.5 apg), and among Western Conference players, she ranked fourth in scoring (19.0 ppg) and second in both field goal percentage (.700 on 14-for-20 shooting) and three-point field goal percentage (.778 on 7-for-9 shooting).

In a 78-61 loss to Indiana on July 5, Bird scored 21 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out five assists. She then posted 17 points, three rebounds and eight assists in a 99-80 victory over conference rival Los Angeles Sparks.

This is Bird�s fourth Player of the Week award in her career, and marks the second consecutive week a Storm player has won the honor (Swin Cash earned the honor last week).

Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week were Chicago�s Sylvia Fowles, Indiana�s Tamika Catchings, Minnesota�s Maya Moore, Seattle�s Cash and Tulsa�s Tiffany Jackson.