Seimone WNBA Player of the Week, Scholanda garners mention
NEW YORK, June 21, 2010 – Tina Charles of the Connecticut Sun and Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx, were named the league’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors, respectively, for regular season games played Monday, June 14 through Sunday, June 20.
This marks the first season that Kia Motors, an official marketing partner of the WNBA, has presented the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week award.For Augustus, the top overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft, the Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors award is the fourth of her career. More importantly, it signifies a successful return from a pair of surgical procedures – first to the ACL in her left knee following a collision with the Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi on June 17, 2009, and then to remove non-cancerous fibroids this past April.
Augustus averaged 21.5 points (fourth in Western Conference, seventh overall), 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 block while leading the Lynx to a 2-0 record with back-to-back victories over the Tulsa Shock this past week. The pair of wins gave Minnesota a 2-2 mark in games since Augustus made her 2010 debut and pulled the Lynx to within 1.5 games of second place in the West. The LSU product and Baton Rouge, La., native had missed the first nine games of the year. After being idle for 19 home games stretching back to 2009, Augustus made a triumphant return to Target Center on June 18, with a game-high 27 points (her highest total since netting 30 on June 16, 2009), five rebounds and two blocks. Included in that effort were a career-high five three-pointers and a team-leading seven points in the fourth quarter that helped Minnesota rally for a 78-67 win. It marked the Lynx first victory in the last nine games in which they had entered the fourth quarter with a deficit. One night later in Tulsa, Augustus scored 16 points, including four more treys, in a 92-78 win over the Shock. The four three-pointers brought her total to a league-high nine for the week. Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week presented by Kia Motors were Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, Los Angeles’ Tina Thompson, New York’s Cappie Pondexter, Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, Seattle’s Lauren Jackson, Tulsa’s Scholanda Robinson, and Washington’s Katie Smith.