Lynx center Sylvia Fowles named Western Conference player of week

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The WNBA today named Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played June 5 through June 11. The Player of the Week award is Fowles’ 10th of her career and third this season.

Minnesota swept its weekend road trip to Washington and Dallas, boosting its record to 9-0 overall and stretching its lead to 2.5 games over the Mystics (7-3) atop the WNBA standings. The Lynx moved to 6-0 on the road in 2017, matching the second-longest such streak to begin a season in league history after opening 2016 with eight consecutive road wins. Over the two-game stretch, Fowles averaged 25.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists. She shot 70.5% from the floor (24-for-34) while collecting her league-leading fifth double-double of the season to increase her career total to 112 (third in league history).

The 10-year pro from Louisiana State registered game-high totals of 21 points and 11 rebounds inFriday’s victory at Washington, snapping the Mystics’ five-game winning streak. It was Fowles’ fourth 20+ pt/10+ reb night of the season (44th career), and she added two steals and a career-high five assists, the latter part of Minnesota’s club-record haul of 30 assists. She followed up her performance in Washington with a 30-point, nine-rebound effort in Sunday’s triumph at Dallas, equaling her high point total in a Lynx uniform and marking the eighth 30+ performance of her career. Fowles went 14-for-19 from the floor vs. the Wings, tying her career best for field goals made in a game.

Fowles leads the WNBA in field goal accuracy (66.1%) while ranking second in scoring (21.9 ppg), second in rebounding (10.1 rpg), second in blocks (1.89 bpg) and third in steals (2.00 spg); she’s the only player among the WNBA’s top five in all five categories.

New York’s Tina Charles was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.