Jones named East's Player of the Week

Asjha Jones was named the Eastern Conference's Player of the Week Monday. A two-time honoree this season (she has three for her career), Jones averaged 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in wins over Los Angeles and Washington. She posted 27 points Sunday against the Mystics. Houston's Tina Thompson was named the West's Player of the Week. Here's the full release:

NEW YORK — Asjha Jones of the Connecticut Sun and Tina Thompson of the Houston Comets were named the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, July 21 through Sunday, July 27.

Jones earns her third-career Player of the Week award and second this season after averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting .500 from the floor (13-26) and .714 from the free-throw line (10-14). She helped Connecticut to a 2-0 record this week, with convincing victories over Los Angeles and Washington. Connecticut is in first place in the Eastern Conference at 16-10 heading into the WNBA’s break during the month of August for the Olympics.

Jones nearly posted a double-double against the Sparks on July 24, tallying nine points and eight rebounds to go along with three assists in 26 minutes of action. Against the Mystics on July 27, she recorded a game-high 27 points while shooting .625 from the floor (10-16) and .875 from the free throw line (7-8) in 28 minutes. A member of the 2007 Eastern Conference All-Star Team, Jones ranks among the top 20 WNBA leaders this season in almost every scoring and rebounding category, including points per game, rebounds per game, field goal percentage and double-doubles.

Thompson earns the fourth Player of the Week award of her career and first since 2004. She posted 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists this past week en route to an unblemished 3-0 record. The Comets, in the midst of a five-game winning streak, currently own a 14-12 overall record and sit in fifth place in the tightly-contested Western Conference. In a 94-92 win over the Mercury on July 22, Thompson had 19 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes. She posted similar numbers against the Shock on July 24 with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Thompson is averaging 17.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this season. In addition, she ranks among top 20 WNBA leaders this season in many categories, including points per game, rebounds per game and free throw-percentage. She ranks first overall in minutes per game (36.0) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.447).

Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Iziane Castro Marques, Chicago’s Candice Dupree, New York’s Janel McCarville, Phoenix’ Diana Taurasi, Sacramento’s Kara Lawson, San Antonio’s Becky Hammon, Seattle’s Sue Bird and Washington’s Taj McWilliams-Franklin.