The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

For the 10th time in her five-year career, Grand Bahamian Jonquel Jones has been one of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Players of the Week.

Yesterday, the WNBA named Jones - a forward/centre for the Connecticut Sun - as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the period of August 15-22, while Brittney Griner, a centre for the Phoenix Mercury, was selected the Western Conference Player of the Week.

Jones, 27, earned the feat as she led the Sun to a perfect 3-0 win-loss record last week with an average of 18.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Griner averaged 20.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Mercury, who were 4-0.

The 6-foot-6 Jones earned the award for the third time this summer as Connecticut started the second half of the WNBA season with a victory over the Dallas Wings and a pair over the Minnesota Lynx.

In the first game played against the Wings on Sunday when they won 80-59, Jones produced a team-high 19 points and 15 rebounds with four assists.

On Tuesday in their 72-60 win over the Lynx, Jones posted 13 points with four assists and three steals. And on Thursday in their 82-71 triumph that completed their sweep over Minnesota, Jones netted 20 points with seven rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.

Jones and Connecticut, currently leading the Eastern Conference with a 17-6 record, will be back on the court at home tonight at 7pm at the Mohegan Sun Arena when they take on the Las Vegas Aces, who are also 17-6 atop the Western Conference. It’s their final game in their series with the Sun holding a 2-0 advantage over the Aces. That will be followed by a match-up against the Los Angeles Sparks, now 10-13 in fifth place in the Western Conference, in another home game on Thursday.

Jones is currently the only player in the league who is averaging a double-double with 20.6 points and 11.2 rebounds. She is also sixth in field goal percentage at 53.8 for players attempting at least 10 shots per game and fifth in 3-point shooting percentage for players attempting at least three 3s per game at 40.7 percent.

Coming off her runner-up spot in the three-point shooting contest, but on the winning Team WNBA squad that knocked off the USA Women’s Olympic team 93-85 at the AT&T WNBA All-Star Classic, Jones is now being considered as one of the top contenders for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.