Sky’s Prince and Mercury’s Bonner named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week for games played May 28-June 3, 2012
From the league:
Epiphanny Prince of the Chicago Sky and DeWanna Bonner of the Phoenix Mercury were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played May 28-June 3.
For Prince, now in her third WNBA season, the Player of the Week award is the first such honor of her career. The product of Rutgers led Chicago to a 3-0 record, with road wins at San Antonio and over defending Eastern Conference champion Atlanta, as well as a home win over Washington. In the process, Prince engineered consecutive comeback victories, leading the Sky back from eight points down with less than two minutes to play vs. Washington; and from 22 points down at Atlanta the following night.
Prince, who leads the Fever in scoring and steals (23.8 ppg and 2.6 spg), paced the WNBA in scoring (28.7 ppg) and minutes (37.0 mpg) during the week. She also ranked seventh in both three-point shooting (.571 on 12 of 21), and steals (2.33 spg).
Prince opened the week with 22 points, five steals and six rebounds in a77-63 victory at the Silver Stars and then tallied back-to-back efforts of 30-plus points while bringing Chicago from behind both times. Prince first rallied the Sky past the Mystics, 65-63, with 31 points, including 16 of Chicago’s 22 fourth quarter points. The next day in Atlanta, Chicago’s first round draft pick of 2010 guided the Sky to a franchise-best 22-point comeback, hitting a three-point shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and then scoring all eight of her team’s points in the extra period for a 94-92 win.
For Bonner, winner of the WNBA’s Sixth Woman of the Year award in each of the past three seasons, this marks the second Player of the Week award.
The Mercury guard/forward ranked third in the WNBA in rebounds (10.7 rpg) and fourth in scoring (20.7 ppg) as Phoenix posted a 1-2 record. She also ranked second in minutes (36.3 mpg), trailing only Prince.
A product of Auburn University, Bonner began and ended her week with a double-double, first tallying 22 points, 10 boards, three steals and three assists in a road loss at Atlanta, and closing the week with 23 points and 13 rebounds in a 79-72 win over Tulsa. In between, Bonner narrowly missed another double-double, finishing with 17 points and nine boards as Phoenix fell at San Antonio. Her two 10-plus-rebound games increased her career total to 20, tying her with Candice Dupree for the most in franchise history.
Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry, Connecticut’s Tina Charles, and Washington’s Crystal Langhorne in the East, as well as Los Angeles’ Kristi Toliver, Minnesota’s Rebekkah Brunson, San Antonio’s Becky Hammon, Seattle’s Sue Bird, and Tulsa’s Jennifer Lacy in the West.
