Connecticut’s Ogwumike honored as top WNBA rookie

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Connecticut’s Chiney Ogwumike was selected as the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year on Thursday.

Ogwumike received 23 votes from a nationwide panel of 38 sportswriters and broadcasters to outdistance Tulsa’s Odyssey Sims for the honor. Sims, selected behind only Ogwumike in the WNBA Draft, finished with 12 votes.

Kayla McBride of San Antonio was next with two votes, while Atlanta’s Shoni Schimmel picked up one. McBride was the third pick in the draft and Schimmel was selected eighth.

Ogwumike appeared in 31 games for the Sun this season, all as a starter, and averaged 15.5 points with 8.5 rebounds. She led all rookies in rebounding and her 13 double-doubles tied for the second-most overall in the league.

The Stanford product became the second in her family to win the award, following sister Nneka, who captured the top rookie honor in 2012 with the Los Angeles Sparks. Both were first overall draft picks.

Categorized in: WNBA