Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry crowned WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week
At the end of the last week of the regular season, Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry has been recognized by the league as the Eastern Conference player of the week for her stellar performances during the games played from Monday, September 5 through Sunday, September 11.
During the previous week, the 25-year-old helped the Dream secure No. 3 seed in the Conference Playoffs on the back of two-consecutive victories, beating the slumping Tulsa Shock and the second-seeded Connecticut Sun.
This weekly honour is the fourth for McCoughtry has bagged in the 2011 season, tying with Connecticut Sun’s Tina Charles for the most weekly honours.
McCoughtry, former No. 1 overall draft pick and ‘Rookie of the Year’ award winner, averaged a league-best 33.5 points, nearly 12 points better than her season average, and 3 blocks per game during the week. In 2011, McCoughtry is second in the WNBA in scoring with an average of 21.6 points per game and is third in steals this season with an average of 2.2 steals a game.
Seattle Storm’s Katie Smith was named Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 21.5 points per game on the week. Here is a brief review of McCoughtry’s breath-taking performance during the week:
September 4 vs. Tulsa Shock
McCoughtry’s signature effort came this past Sunday night on their home court when she made Tulsa dance to her tune with game-high 19 points as Atlanta clinched a playoff spot with a 73-52 win at Philips Arena.
The Patterson School’s product scored 10 of her points during Dream’s 11-0 run late in the second period that gave them a 36-26 lead at halftime.
Dream coach Marynell Meadors said of her terrific performance during the first half of the game, “Sometimes it takes her a while to get started, but when she does, she sees things out there that most of us don't see.”
The forward also grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists, blocked three shots and stole the ball twice. McCoughtry ended the game on 7 for 15 shooting from the field, including 2 for 2 from three-point range and 3 for 4 from free throw line.
September 6 vs. Connecticut Sun
Two days later at Philips Arena, she topped all the scorers with scored 35 points and Atlanta moved into third place in the East with an 85-74 victory over the Connecticut. McCoughtry also contributed five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the third consecutive victory for Atlanta. She went 12 for 23 from the floor and 10 for 13 from the line.
Other Nominees
Other nominees for WNBA Players of the Week were Connecticut Sun’s Tina Charles, Los Angeles Sparks’ DeLisha Milton-Jones, Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi, Tulsa Shock’s Liz Cambage, and San Antonio Silver Stars’ Becky Hammon.
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