Olympians Brittney Griner, Tina Charles named Players of the Week

PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 3: Brittney Griner
PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 3: Brittney Griner /
facebooktwitterreddit

More from High Post Hoops

Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury and Tina Charles of the New York Liberty were named the Players of the Week, for the Western and Eastern Conference, respectively, for games played in the final week of the regular season.

Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury

On Friday, Griner posted a team-high 31 points in an 86-66 win over the Connecticut Sun.  The two-time Defensive Player of the Year also posted five assists and eight rebounds. On Sunday, she banked another 30 points in the 84-70 home victory over the Atlanta Dream.  Griner also registered six rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. Griner was integral in the Mercury 2-0 record for the week.  The Mercury will host the Seattle Storm in a first-round, single-elimination game tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

This is Griner’s second Player of the Week award this season and the fifth honor in as many seasons.

Tina Charles, New York Liberty

Charles posted 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the 81-69 win over San Antonio on Friday.   She then posted her 12th double-double (18 points,18 rebounds) in Sunday’s 82-81 victory over the Dallas Wings to complete a 10-0 run to finish the season. The Liberty earned the No. 3 seed and will host a second round single elimination game on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Liberty will face the winner of tomorrow’s game between the Dallas Wings and the Washington Mystics.

This is the  28th  career Player of the Week award in eight seasons and her seventh of the season. Charles is the only WNBA player to earn seven awards in a single season and the only player to do so in consecutive seasons.

Giving back

Both Griner and Charles also made headlines for their philanthropic work last week. Texas-native Brittney Griner and her team raised over $66,000 for the American Red Cross through donations, t-shirt sales, special auctions and tickets to have breakfast with Griner herself.

Last week, Charles met a man saved by an AED machine donated by her non-profit Hopey’s Heart Foundation. SInce 2013, Charles has worked to place AED machines in schools, gyms and rural areas in memory of her aunt Maureen “Hopey” Vaz who died due to multiple organ failure.

Congratulations to Brittney Griner and Tina Charles for earning Player of the Week honors from the WNBA, and for all you do in the community. Watch Griner, Charles and the remainder of the playoff teams as the WNBA playoffs begin tomorrow night on ESPN 2.