Former UConn stars Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi swept the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Player of the Week honors.
Charles tied Tamika Catchings for the most weekly honors in league history by earning the distinction for a 22nd time. Charles led the Eastern Conference in scoring (25.7 points per game), tied for eighth in rebounds (7 rpg), and was sixth in free throw percentage (.938, 15-of-16). Her week was highlighted by Charles scoring a career-high 36 points in a win over Dallas.
Taurasi earned Player of the Week honors for the 20th time in her 13-year career. The 20 such honors are third-most in league history behind the 22 each by Catchings and Charles.
Taurasi averaged 27 points, 3.5 assists and six made 3-pointers per game as she set the WNBA career regular-season record for 3-pointers made.
Taurasi tipped off her week with a personal season-high 37 points and contributed four assists in a 99-91 road win at the Chicago Sky on June 1.
Since the WNBA went from awarding one player of the week to giving out awards to players in each conference in 2007, this is the 16th time the honorees came from players who attended the same college.
On 12 of those occasions, it was a pair of former Huskies getting recognized led by the duo of Charles and Maya Moore who swept the awards five times. This is the third time Charles and Taurasi were honored during the same week the only other time it happened twice came when former Tennessee stars Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker were so honored on May 27, 2012 and June 24, 2012.
The first time it happened came on June 29, 2008 when Asjha Jones and Diana Taurasi were the winners. Sue Bird and Jones were honored on July 26, 2009 (marking the only time players in the same recruiting class won the award the same week) Charles and Swin Cash won on July 5, 2011, former Rutgers stars Tammy Sutton-Brown and Cappie Pondexter were the recipients on July 5, 2009, LSU legends Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus swept the awards on Aug. 29, 2011 while Charles and Breanna Stewart were honored on Sept. 11, 2016.
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