Week 2 of the WNBA’s Player of the Week awards, announced on Tuesday, highlighted a royal guard and a nearly unstoppable center.
In the Eastern Conference, Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty earned the accolade for the fifth time in her career. The soft-spoken guard turned in a pair of outstanding performances. Last Tuesday, Prince hit a game-winning jumper to help the Liberty defeat the Phoenix Mercury. The shot was an exclamation point for Prince, who racked up 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
Prince struggled somewhat a few days later, when the Liberty fell to the Seattle Storm. However, she still finished with 19 points and seven assists in that contest.
Although her recent results are encouraging, the Liberty face an impending absence from Prince. She and Kia Vaughn will miss several games due to commitments in the upcoming Eurobasket tournament, so the Liberty will have to procure offense elsewhere.
Sylvia Fowles faces no such conflict, allowing her to pile up the weekly awards. The Minnesota Lynx center earned her second straight Western Conference Player of the Week honor and will likely earn Player of the Month honors to go with it.
Fowles continued her domination of the paint over the last week. She overpowered Connecticut in a home-and-home series, and followed up with a double-double in Minnesota’s runaway win over San Antonio on Sunday. Through six games this season, the 31-year-old has four 20-point games and four double-doubles. As a result of her consistency, Fowles ranks sixth in the WNBA in scoring and second in rebounds and blocks.
Earning a third straight Player of the Week award could be tough for Fowles, as Minnesota doesn’t play again until Saturday. Still, her performance so far is nothing short of amazing.