Sky’s Sylvia Fowles wins WNBA honor

NEW YORK — Sylvia Fowles of the Chicago Sky and Lindsay Whalen of the Minnesota Lynx were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for regular season games played in August.

Fowles kept Chicago (5-5 during August) in the race for a playoff berth, by ranking in the top three in five major statistical categories during August. Whalen, who led the league in assists and ranked among the scoring leaders, guided Minnesota to the league’s best record (11-2, .846 in August) and helped the Lynx extend their overall league-best record to 24-6.

Fowles led the league in rebounds (11.9 rpg) and field goal percentage (.680 on 83 of 122 shooting from the field), while ranking second in minutes played (35.0 mpg). She also ranked third in the WNBA and second in the Eastern Conference in scoring (20.5 ppg) and blocks (1.8 bpg). Fowles also scored in double figures in every game during the month, topping 20 points in six of 10 outings, and set a WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles in a single season with eight.

Highlights of Fowles’ month included an outstanding three-game stretch:

Aug. 12 vs. Minnesota: Scored a game-high 28 points (including an 11-for-13 effort from the field and 6-for-6 shooting from the free throw line) and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Aug. 14 at San Antonio: Recorded a season-high 17 rebounds and a game-high 28 points (including 12–for-16 shooting from the field)

Aug. 20 at Washington: Tallied game- highs of 25 points and 11 boards

For the season, Fowles leads the WNBA in double-doubles (20), field goal percentage (.600) and blocks (2.17 bpg), ranks second in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and minutes played (34.6 mpg), and third in scoring (20.0 ppg).

Whalen is the third consecutive Minnesota player to earn Western Conference Player of the Month honors. Rebekkah Brunson and Seimone Augustus took home the award in June and July, respectively.

Now in her eighth season, Whalen led the league in assists (5.8 apg) and ranked fifth in the Western Conference in scoring (14.2 ppg) in August while helping the Lynx close out the month with six consecutive wins.