The Atlanta Dream leads WNBA’s Eastern Conference with two players voted into starting lineup as Dream forward Angel McCoughtry and guard Shoni Schimmel have been voted in as starters to represent the Eastern Conference in Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star 2015, the league office announced Tuesday.
Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star 2015 will be played on Saturday, July 25 beginning at 3:30 p.m., ET. The game will be televised to a live national audience on ABC from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
The starting lineups were determined by fan voting, with McCoughtry receiving 7,619 votes to finish second among all frontcourt players in the Eastern Conference. It marks the fourth time McCoughtry has been voted in as an All-Star starter, having previously earned the starting nod in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Schimmel, who was the most valuable player of the 2014 WNBA All-Star Game, was second among all Eastern Conference guards with 8,881 votes, which ranked sixth amongst WNBA players overall.
McCoughtry ranked second among East forwards, trailing only Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, who ranked second among all Eastern Conference players with 9,923 votes.
The Dream will have two starters at the All-Star Game for the second time in franchise history and the second consecutive season overall.
McCoughtry currently ranks second among WNBA leaders in scoring (21.9), fifth in steals (2.0), eighth in assists (3.6) and 13th in rebounding (6.3). She is the only WNBA player to rank among the top-13 in each of those categories.
The prolific frontcourt scorer has been a model of consistency as she has registered double-figure points in all 12 games this season and a total of 19 consecutive dating back to the 2014 campaign. She has rung up a total of eight 20+ point scoring efforts in 2015 and a pair of 30+ point totals.
McCoughtry ranked in the top-four in both scoring and steals in the WNBA in 2014. She paced the league with an average of 2.39 steals and ranked fourth in scoring (18.5 ppg) while helping guide the Dream to their sixth consecutive playoff appearance.
The 6-1 forward also was the second-leading scorer for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team that won the gold medal in London. The former No. 1 overall pick out of Louisville in 2009, McCoughtry will become the first Dream player to appear in four WNBA All-Star Games – each of which she has been a starter.
Schimmel will be making her second consecutive WNBA All-Star game appearance as a starter after being recognized as the game’s most valuable player in 2014. She registered a WNBA All-Star game-record 29 points and dished out eight assists in last season’s contest, leading the Eastern Conference to a 125-124 overtime win.
Schimmel shot 11-of-24 from the field in last year’s all-star classic, including a 7-of-16 clip from beyond the three-point arc. McCoughtry totaled 13 points and seven rebounds, while shooting 6-of-11 overall in the 2014 overtime victory for the Eastern Conference.
Joining McCoughtry and Schimmel in the Eastern Conference lineup will be Chicago’s Elena Delle Donne, who led all players with 18,034 votes, Indiana’s Catchings (9,923 votes) and New York’s Tina Charles (6,129).
The Western Conference starters will include Tulsa’s Skylar Diggins (15,895), Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus (9,599) and Maya Moore (13,706) as well as Phoenix’s Brittney Griner (7,138) and Candice Dupree (5,954).
The East squad will be led by Chicago Sky head coach Pokey Chatman by virtue of their 2014 Eastern Conference Championship. Phoenix’s Sandy Brondello will head the West coaching staff after leading her team to the WNBA Championship last season.
The 12 WNBA head coaches will select the reserves by voting for six players within their own conference: two backcourt players, three frontcourt players, and a player from either position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own
team.
The league will announce the reserves during ESPN2’s national telecast of the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday, July 21 at 11 p.m., ET.
In the case of players who are unable to play due to injury — such as Diggins, who has sustained a season-ending injury – replacement players will be named by WNBA President Laurel J. Richie.
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