Catchings, Buescher Named WNBA Players of the Week
Published on July 9, 2007 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release
New York, July 9, 2007 - Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever and Erin Buescher of the San Antonio Silver Stars were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, July 2 through Sunday, July 8.
An 11-time Player of the Week winner, Catchings receives her second honor this season after averaging 16.5 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, 5.5 steals and shooting 42 percent on field goals (10-for-24) and 72 percent on free throws (13-for-18) for the week. Catchings led her team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals in both contests as the Fever posted a 2-0 record, maintaining the league's best overall record with 13-4.
On July 8, Catchings became the first player in WNBA history to tally at least seven rebounds, assists and steals in a game. She recorded 16 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, seven steals and a block, while converting 6-of-9 field goals and 4-of-7 free throws in an 86-70 victory over the Chicago Sky. Her sixth double-double ties for second highest in the league this season, with Chicago's Candice Dupree and Sacramento's Rebekkah Brunson, and her 11 assists ties the franchise record and matches the most by any player in the league this season.
Catchings is the only player in the league to be ranked in the top ten in points (16.6 per game), rebounds (8.9 per game), assists (4.4 per game), steals (3.4 per game) and blocked shots (1.2 per game). Her seven steals against Chicago lifted her career total to 474, moving her to third on the all-time rankings list.
Erin Buescher earns her first weekly award after averaging 23 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and three assists while shooting 63 percent (15-for-24), 50 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-6) and 93 percent from the free throw line (13-for-14) as she led the Silver Stars to a 2-0 record on the week.
On July 7, Buescher scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed a career-high tying five steals, along with six rebounds, two assists, and made 9-of-15 field goals, 2-of-3 three pointers and 7-of-8 free throws to lead her team to an 80-73 win over the Seattle Storm.
Buescher currently ranks fifth in the league in steals (2.1 per game), 12th in rebounds (6.4 per game) and 24th in scoring (11.9 points per game).
Other candidates for WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Connecticut's Katie Douglas, Detroit's Deanna Nolan, Phoenix's Penny Taylor, Sacramento's Nicole Powell, Seattle's Lauren Jackson and Washington's Alana Beard.
The WNBA tipped off its second decade of play on May 19, 2007, featuring comprehensive national television coverage. ESPN2 and ABC will combine to televise up to 36 games nationally during the regular season and playoffs. The second straight year of "WNBA Tuesdays" on ESPN2 includes five doubleheaders and WNBA action on 11 of 14 Tuesday nights in-season. NBA TV will complement ABC and ESPN2's coverage by televising 70 regular-season and up to nine playoff games. The WNBA All-Star Game will be played at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. on July 15 at 3:30 pm ET with live coverage on ABC.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 9, 2007
- Catchings, Buescher Named WNBA Players of the Week - WNBA
- Fever Update - Indiana Fever
- WNBA All-Star Reserves Announced - WNBA
- Douglas, Jones Named All-Star Reserves - Connecticut Sun
- Taylor, Pondexter named 2007 WNBA All-Stars - Phoenix Mercury
- Alana Beard And Delisha Milton-Jones Named To WNBA All-Star Team - Washington Mystics
- Chicago Sky Weekly Update - Chicago Sky
- Rebekkah Brunson Named A Reserve For The 2007 WNBA All-Star Game - Sacramento Monarchs
- Lynx Guard Seimone Augustus Selected to 2007 Western Conference All-Star Team - Minnesota Lynx
- Sky Forward Candice Dupree Makes WNBA All-Star Team - Chicago Sky
- Sutton-Brown Named An All-Star Reserve By Eastern Conference Coaches - Indiana Fever
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