NEW YORK, July 6, 2009 Tammy Sutton-Brown of the Indiana Fever and Cappie Pondexter of the Phoenix Mercury were named the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 5.
Sutton-Brown, who averaged 18.0 points on 52.0 percent (13-25) shooting, 11.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks for the week, wins the second Player of the Week award of her career and is the second Fever player in a row to win the award. Sutton-Brown led the WNBA in rebounding and was one of two players (Nicky Anosike) to average a double-double for the week. Her 18.0 points per game led the Eastern Conference, among players who played in more than one game. She steered the Indiana Fever to wins over the Connecticut Sun and Atlanta Dream, extending the teams winning streak to a franchise-record eight games in a row.
In Sundays win over the Dream, Sutton-Brown scored a season-high 22 points including seven in the teams 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter which gave Indiana the lead for good. Against the Connecticut Sun, she recorded season highs in blocked shots (five), rebounds (14) and defensive rebounds (12). Her 14 rebounds, paired with her 14 points, marked her second double-double of the season. She went 10-10 over both games from the free-throw line after entering the week as a 75.0 percent (18-24) free-throw shooter.
Sutton-Brown has been selected to two All-Star teams over her nine-year WNBA career. Shes fifth among all-time league leaders in blocked shots (412) and has scored over 2,700 points and collected over 1,500 rebounds in her career. This season, shes averaging 10.4 points per game and a career-high 7.4 rebounds.
Pondexter earns the third Player of the Week award of her career after averaging 21.5 points on 51.6 percent (16-31) shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in the Mercurys two wins. She led the league, among players who played in more than one game, in scoring this week and was the only player to place among the leagues top eight for points, rebounds and assists per game. On the strength of Pondexters play, Phoenix moved into first place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Lynx.
Against the Seattle Storm, Pondexter recorded her first double-double (22 points, 11 rebounds) of the season while missing a triple-double by only two assists. She drained four of her six three-pointers for a season high in the game. She followed that performance up with a game-high 21 points in a road win over the Los Angeles Sparks. In that game, she pulled down four rebounds to become the second-fastest player (107 games; Diana Taurasi, 104 games) in league history to record 2,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in a career.
Pondexter is a two-time WNBA All-Star, a gold-medalist with the 2008 U.S. Olympic Womens Basketball Team and the 2007 WNBA Finals MVP. She currently ranks third in the WNBA in scoring (20.6 ppg) and fifth in assists (4.8 apg).
Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week were Atlantas Sancho Lyttle, Connecticuts Erin Phillips, Los Angeles DeLisha Milton-Jones, New Yorks Shameka Christon, Minnesotas Nicky Anosike, Sacramentos Nicole Powell, San Antonios Sophia Young and Washingtons Crystal Langhorne.
About the WNBA
The WNBA is a unique global sports property combining competition, sportsmanship and entertainment value with its status as an icon for social change, achievement and diversity. Comprised of 13 teams, the WNBA is the most successful womens professional team sports league in the world. The league concluded its historic 12th regular season with increases in attendance, ratings, Web traffic and merchandise sales. The 2009 WNBA season tipped off June 6 on ABC.
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