Layshia Clarendon of the Atlanta Dream and Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played May 13-21 – the opening week of the 2017 regular season.
Clarendon earned Player of the Week honors for the first time in her five-year career. The former University of California standout led the Dream to a 2-1 record. For the week, Clarendon ranked second among Eastern Conference players in assists (6.0 apg), fifth in scoring (16.3 ppg), tied for fifth in field goal percentage (.500, 17-of-34) and seventh in free throw percentage (.929, 13-of-14).
The 5-9 guard opened her week on May 13 by scoring 14 points in an 81-74 victory at the Connecticut Sun. Clarendon notched 18 points and seven assists and tied her career high with six rebounds in a 91-83 win at the Chicago Sky on May 19. She closed her week by tying a career high with nine assists while contributing 17 points and five rebounds in a 75-71 loss to the visiting Sky.
Fowles earned Player of the Week honors for the eighth time in her 10-year career. Among Western Conference players, she ranked second in rebounding (10.0 rpg) and blocks (2.0 bpg), third in steals (2.0 spg), fourth in scoring (21.7 ppg) and sixth in sixth in field goal percentage (.575, 23-of-40). The former LSU standout recorded two double-doubles to lead Minnesota to a 3-0 start as the Lynx extended its May winning streak to 20 games (5-0 in 2012, 6-0 in 2014, 6-0 in 2016 and 3-0 in 2017).
On May 14, Fowles opened the season with a game-high 26 points and team-high 10 rebounds to go with four steals and three blocks as Minnesota defeated visiting Chicago 70-61. In her final game of the week, the 6-6 center finished with game highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds in Minnesota’s 89-87 win over the host Dallas Wings.
Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Tiffany Hayes, the Connecticut Sun’s Jonquel Jones, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike, the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner, the Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd and the Washington Mystics’Elena Delle Donne.
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