Johnson Named WNBA Player of the Week

ARLINGTON—Courtney Vandersloot of the Chicago Sky and Glory Johnson of the Dallas Wings today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played July 31-Aug. 6.

Vandersloot was selected Player of the Week for the first time this season and second time during her seven-year career.

The 2015 WNBA assists leader helped Chicago go 2-0 last week, as the Sky improved its record to 10-16 for the season. Vandersloot paced East players in assists (10.0 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.833, 5-of-6), and ranked second in scoring (22.2 ppg) and overall shooting percentage (.727, 16-of-22). She also ranked fourth in minutes (34.7 mpg) and averaged 5.5 rebounds.

Vandersloot opened her week with team highs of 18 points and 10 assists in an 81-70 road win over the Indiana Fever on Friday.  The former Gonzaga standout keyed Chicago’s 14-0 run for a 70-58 lead midway through the fourth quarter with big plays on three straight possessions – she banked in a three-pointer, made a no-look pass to Bashaara Graves for a layup and hit a pull-up jumper in transition.

The 5-8 guard also logged her fourth straight points-assists double-double in a 91-86 win over the visiting Atlanta Dream on Saturday, tying her career high of 26 points while also contributing 10 assists and seven rebounds.

For Johnson, the Player of the Week honor is the second in her five WNBA seasons.  The two-time WNBA All-Star led Dallas to a 2-0 mark as the Wings improved to 13-14.

Johnson paced West players in rebounds (14.5 rpg) and tied for ninth in scoring (17.0 ppg).  She also tied for second in three-point field goal percentage (.600, 3-of-5) and finished sixth in overall shooting percentage (.520, 13-of-25).

The former University of Tennessee standout opened her week with a season high of 16 rebounds in the Wings’ 93-80 victory over the visiting Seattle Storm on Friday. She also contributed 11 points, two assists, a steal and a block in the win.

The 6-3 forward then posted her 10th double-double of the season with 23 points and 13 boards as Dallas topped the visiting Los Angeles Sparks, 85-79, on Sunday.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Connecticut Sun’s Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas, Dallas’ Skylar Diggins-Smith, Indiana’s Candice Dupree, Los Angeles’ Candace Parker, the Minnesota Lynx’s Maya Moore, the San Antonio Stars’ Kelsey Plum, Seattle’s Breanna Stewart and the Washington Mystics’ Kristi Toliver.

For more information on the WNBA Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.

The 2017 WNBA regular season runs through Sept. 3.  For more information on the WNBA and game tickets, fans may visit www.wnba.com.