MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — One day after being selected to represent Team USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, former LSU All-American and Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus was named the WNBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.
The award was for games played Monday, May 26 through Sunday, June 1 and is the second such honor in Augustus’ three-year WNBA career. The first overall pick of the 2006 WNBA Draft, Augustus received the award for the first time on June 5, 2006 in just her third week in the WNBA. Augustus is one of only two players in Lynx history to receive Player of the Week honors.
“It is definitely a great honor to be named the WNBA Player of the Week,” Augustus said. “I just want to thank my teammates for all their hard work because basketball is a team sport, and without them I wouldn’t have received this award.”
In three games last week (3-0), Augustus led the Lynx in scoring on each night, recording an average of 22.0 points while shooting 24-of-45 (.533) from the field, 3-of-6 (.500) from 3-point range and 15-of-16 (.938) from the free-throw line. She also tied for the club lead in rebounds per game (6.3), along with establishing a new single-game career-high in rebounds with nine in back-to-back games at Houston on May 29 and at Chicago on May 31. Augustus also tied a career-high with three steals in Minnesota’s win over Chicago.
Augustus ranks fifth in the league in scoring with 22.0 points per game and ranks in the top 25 in rebounding (5.3 rpg, 21st), field-goal accuracy (.508 FG%, 13th), 3-point accuracy (.500 FG%, 7th), free-throw accuracy (.944 FT%, 7th), steals (1.50 spg, 22nd) and blocked shots (1.00 bpg, 13th).
With her four double-digit performances to start the season, Augustus has increased her streak of consecutive games with 10-plus points to 62. The two-time All-Star’s streak ranks third on the WNBA’s all-time list, behind only Cynthia Cooper (92) and Lauren Jackson (84). Augustus’ streak is the longest current streak in the WNBA.
Augustus and former college teammate Sylvia Fowles were named to the 2008 United States Women’s Basketball Olympics Team on Saturday, becoming the first such players in LSU history to earn the honor.
Augustus received All-America accolades all four years during her career and became the school’s only three-time State Farm All-American. She finished her career as the second leading scorer in LSU history with 2,702 points. She also set the NCAA record for double figure scoring games, reaching that figure in 132 of her 140 contests.