Lynx' Fowles Named Western Conference Player of the Month

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The WNBA today named Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles its Western Conference Player of the Month for the month of July after she led the Lynx to a league-best 7-1 record in the month of July (19-2 overall). This is the third consecutive Western Conference Player of the Month award for Fowles this season (May and June) and the eighth of her career, passing teammate Maya Moore for second-most all-time. Fowles becomes the third player since the awards’ inception in 2010 to be named Western Conference Player of the Month for the first three months of a season (Lauren Jackson, 2010 and Candace Parker, 2012). The award marks the 14th time a Lynx player has been named Player of the Month, with Moore (August 2013, September 2013, May 2014, July 2014, August 2014, July 2015, May 2016 and September 2016), Lindsay Whalen (August 2011), Seimone Augustus (July 2011) and Rebekkah Brunson (June 2011) also having previously received the award. Fowles was awarded Western Conference Player of the Week on May 23, May 30, June 12 and July 23.

After the 21 games, Fowles leads the WNBA in FG accuracy (68.1%), ranks second in scoring (20.9 ppg), third in rebounding (9.9 rpg) and third in blocks (2.00 bpg). In the month of July, she recorded three 20+ point/10+ rebound games to push her season total to a league-leading nine.

Highlights from Fowles’ month include:

·         July 6 vs. Los Angeles: Tallied 20 points, 13 rebounds, including five offensive, two assists and four blocks in the 88-77 victory over the Sparks. Her totals led the Lynx in scoring, rebounding and blocks.

·         July 19 vs. Dallas: Led all players with 24 points on an efficient 10-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds in the 100-74 win against Dallas, sweeping the season series with the Wings. In the three games vs. Dallas this year, Fowles averaged 27.0 ppg and 11.3 rpg in 28.3 mpg while shooting 71.1% (32-for-45) from the floor.

·         July 30 vs. Seattle: Erupted for a game-high 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting including going 7-of-8 from the free throw line, 12 rebounds and three blocks for her ninth 20/10 effort of the season and 49th of her career.

New York’s Tina Charles was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the month of July. Charles ranks first among East players in scoring (20.6 ppg), second in rebounding (10.0 rpg) and eighth in blocked shots (0.82 bpg).

The Lynx play next on Thursday, August 3 vs Atlanta Dream at Xcel Energy Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on ESPN2 and heard on BOB 106.1 FM.