Sparks' Jantel Lavender wins 2016 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year award


Los Angeles Sparks frontliner Jantel Lavender won the 2016 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year award, the league announced on Wednesday.

Per the Sparks website:
"Los Angeles Sparks center Jantel Lavender has been named the 2016 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year presented by Samsung, the WNBA announced today.  The six-year veteran center earned the award as the WNBA’s top reserve for the first time. 
The 27-year-old Lavender received 26 votes from a national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters.  Dallas Wings guard Aerial Powers and Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley, the Sixth Woman honoree in each of the past two seasons, tied for second place with three votes apiece.  Indiana Fever guard Shenise Johnson was next with two votes, followed by five players who received one vote each: Connecticut Sun center/forward Jonquel Jones, Fever forward Lynetta Kizer, Minnesota Lynx guard Renee Montgomery, New York Liberty center Kiah Stokes and Liberty guard Shavonte Zellous."
Lavender came off the bench this year instead of starting with fellow frontliners Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike like what head coach Brian Agler did last year. The result was a second-best regular season record.

The simple change in rotation also paved the way for a breakout season for Ogwumike, who was hailed as MVP of the 2016 season.

Lavender has regular season averages of 9.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 19.4 minutes per contest.

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