Prince, Sims Earn Player of the Week Awards
August 31, 2015 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Tulsa Shock News Release
NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 2015 - Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty and Odyssey Sims of the Tulsa Shock were named the WNBA's Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Aug. 24 through Aug. 30.
Prince earned the fourth Player of the Week honor of her career and her second since joining her hometown Liberty this season. This also marks the fourth time in six weeks that a Liberty player won the Eastern Conference award, with Tina Charles honored in weeks six and seven and Prince selected in week nine.
A two-time All-Star, Prince helped New York post a 2-0 record for the week and improve to a league-best 20-8 (.714) overall. The sixth-year pro from Rutgers University led the Eastern Conference in scoring (20.0 ppg), was tied for second in steals (2.0 spg), ranked fifth in field goal percentage (.586 on 17-of-29 shooting), and tied for seventh in assists (3.0 apg). She was New York's leading scorer in both games.
Prince began her week by recording 22 points, four rebounds, and two assists as the host Liberty defeated the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Lynx 81-68 on Aug. 28 to clinch its first playoff berth since 2012. She followed that performance the next day with 18 points, four assists, and four steals in an 80-66 win over the host Connecticut Sun. Prince had eight points in the fourth quarter, when the Liberty outscored the Sun 23-9.
For Sims, the Player of the Week honor is the first of her two-year career. She led Tulsa to a 2-0 week as the Shock extended its winning streak to five games, improved to 15-14 (.517) overall, and clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2009.
Sims, the No. 2 selection in the 2014 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, ranked second in the West in scoring (22.5 ppg) and tied for second in assists (4.5 apg) during the week. She also was tied for fourth in the conference in steals (1.5 spg) and ranked sixth in field goal percentage (.480 on 12-of-25 shooting).
The Baylor University product and 2014 WNBA All-Rookie Team selection opened her week with 15 points, four assists, three steals, and two rebounds in a 76-66 home win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 28. Sims then scored a season-high 30 points and added five assists in the playoff-clinching 76-70 victory over the visiting Indiana Fever on Aug. 30, shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Atlanta Dream's Angel McCoughtry, the Chicago Sky's Courtney Vandersloot, the Fever's Tamika Catchings, the Sparks' Candace Parker, the Liberty's Charles, and the Seattle Storm's Crystal Langhorne.
For more information on this week's Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.
2015 WNBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week Ending East Player Team West Player Team
6/14/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago DeWanna Bonner Phoenix
6/21/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Skylar Diggins Tulsa
6/28/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Lindsay Whalen Minnesota
7/5/15 Tamika Catchings Indiana Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles
7/12/15 Cappie Pondexter Chicago Maya Moore Minnesota
7/19/15 Tina Charles New York Maya Moore Minnesota
8/2/15 Tina Charles New York Maya Moore Minnesota
8/9/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Brittney Griner Phoenix
8/16/15 Epiphanny Prince New York Maya Moore Minnesota
8/23/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Candace Parker Los Angeles
8/30/15 Epiphanny Prince New York Odyssey Sims Tulsa
• Discuss this story on the Women's National Basketball Association message board...
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 31, 2015
- New York Liberty Game Notes: Game #29 vs. Atlanta Dream - Tuesday, September 1 - 7 Pm - New York Liberty
- Pondexter Diagnosed with Concussion - Chicago Sky
- New York Liberty Guard Epiphanny Prince Named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week - New York Liberty
- Prince, Sims Earn Player of the Week Awards - Tulsa Shock
- Prince, Sims Earn Player of the Week Awards - WNBA
- Tulsa Shock's Riquna Williams to Miss Road Trip - Tulsa Shock
- Briann January Re-Signed to Multi-Year Contract - Indiana Fever
- The Players' Tribune Introduces First-Ever All-Access Series Featuring the New York Liberty - New York Liberty
- New York Liberty 2015 WNBA Playoffs Strips on Sale Now - New York Liberty
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
