Chicago's Sylvia Fowles and Minnesota's Seimone Augustus Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2011 - A pair of Louisiana State University products - Sylvia Fowles of the Chicago Sky and Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx � were named the WNBA�s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Aug. 22 through Sunday, Aug. 28.

Fowles led the league in rebounds (12.7 rpg) and field goal percentage (.667 on 22 for 33 shooting). The center was sixth in the Eastern Conference in scoring with 17.0 ppg while placing her in the top 10 in the league. Her 3.67 blocks per contest paced the Eastern Conference, which placed her second in the league. Fowles helped the Sky post a 2-1 record for the week.

For the season, she ranks third in the league in scoring (19.9 ppg) and second in the league in rebounding (10.3 rpg). She leads the league in double-doubles (20), blocks (2.2 bpg) and places second in minutes played (34.6 mpg).

The league leader in double-doubles, with a current streak of eight, continued to put together another solid week. In an 83-80 loss on Aug. 23, against the Atlanta Dream, in a game with playoff implication, Fowles collected 20 points on 9-12 shooting from the field, adding 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. She then tallied another double-double in a 80-67 win over the Washington Mystics with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Fowles closed out her week with a big win (74-73) over the third-place New York Liberty with 17 points, 14 rebounds and tied her week�s best with 4 blocks.

The Player of the Week award is the third of the year for Fowles and the fifth of her career.

Augustus, meanwhile, also earned the honor for the third time this year and the seventh in her six WNBA seasons. She ranks in the top ten in scoring (16.6 ppg) and second among all guards in field goal percentage (.508).

Augustus guided the Lynx to a 3-0 record for the week and the Lynx clinched first place in the Western Conference in an Aug. 28 victory against the San Antonio Silver Stars. She ranked second in the West in scoring (17.0 ppg) and placed in the top 10 overall. Her .564 field goal percentage (22 for 39 shooting) placed her in the top three in the Western Conference.

Augustus reached double figures in all three games and has now tallied ten or more points in each of her last 20 contests. Augustus collected five rebounds in each contest, Minnesota is 11-1 when she hauls in five or more boards. Augustus started the week with 12 points in a 78-72 victory over the Tulsa Shock. She then followed in two back-to-back victories over San Antonio by pouring in 19 points and 20 points. Her 20 points was the eighth 20 plus scoring night of the season and the 79th of her career.

Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week were Phoenix�s Penny Taylor and Diana Taurasi, Seattle�s Sue Bird, Tulsa�s Sheryl Swoopes and Washington�s Crystal Langhorne.