Heavy UConn Women's Basketball Flavor to AP WNBA Awards

UConn Huskies women’s basketball wins in college and then they go on to win in the pros. The WNBA regular season ended on Sunday and on Tuesday the Associated Press released their end of season awards, which featured multiple UConn alums.

Breanna Stewart won Rookie of the Year, in addition to being named to the All-WNBA First Team along with Tina Charles and Maya Moore. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi represent the Huskies on the Second Team. Tina Charles finished second in Player of the Year voting, receiving two of the 14 votes.

Stewart, in her rookie year, had herself a banner year for anyone, not just for rookies. Stewart averaged 18.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 blocks per game for a 14-18 Seattle Storm team that will be the 7-seed in the WNBA playoffs. She broke Lisa Leslie’s defensive rebound mark, grabbing 277 on the year. She led the WNBA in minutes per game (34.7) and was second in rebounds per game in addition to sixth in points per game.

Tina Charles averaged 21.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.8 rebounds per game for the New York Liberty, whose 21-13 mark won them the Eastern Conference and a bye to the semi-finals. She led the WNBA in points and rebounds per game.

Maya Moore scored 19.3 points per game for the Minnesota Lynx, who had a WNBA-best 28-6 record this year. She added 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as well as 1.5 steals per game. Moore was fifth in points per game, seventh in assists per game and sixth in steals per game.

Sue Bird, Stewart’s teammate on the Storm, averaged 12.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Her 31.6 minutes per game was good for seventh in the league and was the league leader in assists.

Diana Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury finished with a 16-18 record and are the 8-seed in the WNBA playoffs. She averaged 17.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Taurasi was seventh in points per game and ninth in assists per game.