The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JUST hours remain before we learn if Jonquel Jones is selected as a starter of the WNBA All-Star game and her Connecticut Sun continue to draw attention as one of the hottest teams in the league.

The Sun overcame a 22-point third quarter deficit and rallied for a 96-92 win over the Washington Mystics at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Saturday.

Jones scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds - both team highs - as the Sun won their fourth consecutive game and moved into first place in the Eastern Conference.

With the win, the Sun improved to 10-7 and surpassed the Mystics who dropped to 10-8. Trio of teams atop the Western Conference standings - the Minnesota Lynx (13-2), Los Angeles Sparks (12-5) and Phoenix Mercury (10-6) boast the top three records in the league.

It was also the Sun's 10th win in the last 13 games as they stormed back after a 1-4 start and now are in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

"I think it was just a relentless attitude, a relentless will to come back. We were down by like 22 or 20, so I think it was just the team effort and everybody just believing that we could do it. We just chipped away at it, we played hard and were able to walk away with the win," Jones said to SB Nation.

Jones has posted averages of 15.9 points and a league leading 11.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

All five of the Sun's starters finished in double digits, and reached another personal career milestone with her 500th career point.

"They missed just enough shots, we started to get some defensive rebounds, JJ (Jonquel Jones) really had a good stretch of defensive rebounds in the 4th quarter," said the Sun's head coach Curt Miller. "We held them to one and done and we got out and ran, we got out and started our running game."

The Sun look to continue their run when they travel to face the Seattle Storm , Wednesday July 12.

WNBA All-Star Voting 2017, presented by Verizon, opened in early June. The Verizon WNBA All-Star 2017 will be played on Saturday (July 22) at KeyArena, home of the Seattle Storm. The game will be broadcast on ABC at 3:30 pm.

All-Star starters will be announced live on ESPN July 11 during the noon edition of Sportscenter. WNBA head coaches will select reserves for both conferences, which will be announced July 18, live on ESPN2.