Lynx Forward Maya Moore Named Western Conference Player of the Month

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The WNBA today named Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore its Western Conference Player of the Month presented by Samsung for the month of August. This is the third Western Conference Player of the Month presented by Samsung award for Moore this season, second consecutive and fifth in the past six, having also been honored in both August and September of 2013. The award marks the eighth time a Lynx player has been named Player of the Month, with Lindsay Whalen (August 2011), Seimone Augustus (July 2011) and Rebekkah Brunson (June 2011) also having previously received the award. After being named Player of the Week on August 4, Moore has now received eight Player of the Week/Player of the Month awards this season.

Moore averaged 23.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg and 3.1 apg in seven games in August, helping Minnesota clinch the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Her month started off with a 40 point performance in a win over Tulsa on August 2, becoming the third player in WNBA history to record multiple 40+ point games in a season (Diana Taurasi- 2006, Katie Smith- 2001). Moore continued her strong play with 30 points in a loss to Phoenix on August 9. The output was Moore's WNBA-record 12th 30+ point game of the season. The UConn product ended the regular season on a high note in a win against Tulsa, scoring a team-high 19 points and pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. The win made Minnesota the first franchise in WNBA history to record four-consecutive 25+ win seasons.

Highlights from Moore’s month include:

• August 2 at Tulsa: Scored 40 points on 14-of-22 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in a team-high 35 minutes. Became the third player in WNBA history with multiple 40+ point games in a season.  
• August 9 at Phoenix: Registered her 12th 30+ point game of the season with a 30 point performance against the Mercury. Added six rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 37 minutes of play.
• August 16 vs. Tulsa: Recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the win over the Shock. Shot 6-of-12 from the field and hit 7-of-8 free throws.

Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month presented by Samsung for the month of July. Catchings averaged 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in August.

Moore and the Lynx just wrapped up their 2014 regular season with a 25-9 record. The leading vote-getter for the 2014 Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star Game, Moore played and started all 34 games for the Lynx and led the WNBA in scoring, averaging 23.9 points per game. Moore also finished eighth in rebounding (8.1 rpg), 13th in field goal percentage (48.1%), fourth in free-throw percentage (88.4%), tied for fourth in steals (1.88 spg) and second in minutes (34.7 mpg). Moore and the Lynx open up the 2014 Western Conference Semifinals at home against the San Antonio Stars on Thursday, August 21. Tipoff for the game is at 8 pm and tickets are available for purchase by calling the Lynx office at 612-673-8400 or going to lynxbasketball.com/lynxtix.