Tina Charles, Maya Moore Tip Off 20th Season as WNBA Players of the Week


NEW YORK, May 23, 2016 – Tina Charles of the New York Liberty and Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played May 14 through May 22.

Charles earned the Player of the Week honor for the 15th time in her seven-year career. The 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player and four-time All-Star helped New York win two of its first three games this season. The former University of Connecticut standout led the WNBA in rebounding (12.7 rpg) and among Eastern Conference players ranked first in scoring (21.7 ppg) and sixth in assists (3.3 apg).

Charles tipped off her season with back-to-back games of 24 points and 11 rebounds – first in an 87-76 win at the Washington Mystics on May 14 and then in a 79-71 win over the Dallas Wings in New York’s home opener on May 15. She followed those performances with her third consecutive double-double, a 17-point, 16-rebound effort in a 79-72 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on May 21.

Moore, the 2013 WNBA Finals MVP and 2014 regular-season MVP, led the Lynx to a 3-0 start for the third straight year. For Moore, who played with Charles at UConn, the Player of the Week honor is the 15th of her six-year career.

Moore ranked first among Western Conference players in assists (6.7 apg), tied for second in scoring (22.0 ppg), seventh in both field goal percentage (.533, 24-of-45) and three-point shooting (.417, 5-of-12), and tied for 12th in rebounding (4.7 rpg).

Behind her 27-point, career-high 10-assist effort, Minnesota opened 2016 with a resounding 95-76 win over the visiting Phoenix Mercury on May 14. She then contributed 22 points and six assists in a 97-80 road win over the Chicago Sky on May 18 before capping her week with 17 points, nine boards, four assists and two blocks in a 78-71 win at the Seattle Storm on May 22.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Atlanta Dream’s Layshia Clarendon, Chicago’s Elena Delle Donne and Cappie Pondexter, the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, Dallas’ Odyssey Sims, Los Angeles’ Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles, Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, the San Antonio Stars’ Kayla McBride, Seattle’s Jewell Loyd and Washington’s Tayler Hill.

For more information on this week’s Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.

 

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