Carol Ross gets Coach of the Year award, Nneka Ogwumike finishes as Rookie of the Year

Carol Ross, in her inaugural season with the Los Angeles Sparks, was named Coach of the Year by the WNBA today. She received 15 votes out of a possible 41 votes. Other major vote recipients were Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun with 12 votes and Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx with nine votes.

The Sparks finished with a 24-10 record in Ross's rookie season as head coach, and she had been an assistant under the Atlanta Dream with Marynell Meadors over the three previous seasons.

Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks received Rookie of the Year honors from the WNBA. She received 39 total votes (Glory Johnson and Samantha Prahalis received one vote each). The 2012 #1 WNBA draft pick for the Sparks averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and won Rookie of the Month four out of five times this season.