NEW YORK, June 11, 2018 – Tiffany Hayes of the Atlanta Dream and Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played June 4-10.

Hayes was selected Player of the Week for the first time in her seven seasons.  Behind Hayes, Atlanta went 3-0 last week to improve its record to 5-3.  She paced Eastern Conference players in points (23.0 ppg) and led all scorers in each of her three games.  Hayes ranked ninth in field goal percentage (55.8, 24-of-43) in the East and sixth in free throw percentage (88.9, 16-of-18).  She also tied for fourth in steals (1.7 spg) and averaged 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

The 5-10 guard opened her week with 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals as Atlanta defeated the previously unbeaten Connecticut Sun 82-77 on June 5.  She then scored 24 points and contributed four assists and three rebounds in an 87-83 road win over the Las Vegas Aces on June 8.  Hayes closed the week on June 10 with 23 points, two assists and two rebounds in a 67-64 win over the host Seattle Storm, which entered the game with the best record in the Western Conference.

For Griner, the Player of the Week honor is her sixth in six seasons.  She led the Mercury to a 3-0 mark as Phoenix improved to 7-3, tying Connecticut for the most wins.  The 6-9 center tied for second in the West in scoring (23.0 ppg) and ranked fourth in rebounding (9.7 rpg).  She also paced the WNBA in blocked shots (4.0 bpg) and led West players in field goal percentage (63.6, 28-of-44).

Griner started the week with 26 points, six rebounds and three blocks as Phoenix defeated the host New York Liberty 80-74 on June 5.  She then tallied 24 points – her fifth 20-point game of the season – eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a 96-79 home victory against the Chicago Sky on June 8.  Griner finished the week with season highs of 15 rebounds and seven blocks to go with 19 points in a 72-66 home win over Las Vegas on June 10.

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry, Connecticut’s Chiney Ogwumike and Jasmine Thomas, the Dallas Wings’ Skylar Diggins-Smith, the Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell, Las Vegas’ A’Ja Wilson, the Minnesota Lynx’s Sylvia Fowles, New York’s Tina Charles and Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi.

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

The 2018 WNBA regular season continues through Aug. 19 and the playoffs begin on Aug. 21.  For more information on the WNBA and game tickets, fans may visit wnba.com.

2018 WNBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week Ending     East Player                  Team                    West Player                             Team

5/27/18                Alyssa Thomas              Connecticut         Chelsea Gray                             Los Angeles

6/3/18                  Tina Charles                  New York            Liz Cambage                             Dallas

6/10/18                Tiffany Hayes                Atlanta                 Brittney Griner                             Phoenix