The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JONQUEL Jones delivered another dominant performance for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers.

Jones finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds in an 80-64 win over North Macedonia yesterday at the SRC Kale Arena in Skopje, Macedonia. She shot 11-17 from the field, 5-8 from three-point range and added three assists in 33 minutes.

The reigning WNBA MVP went head-to-head with Connecticut Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Bosnia and Herzegovina currently leads Group B at 2-0 in the first window of the qualifiers, powered by Jones’ 37 points and 19.5 rebounds per game.

In game one, Jones had the most dominant performance of her professional basketball career with 44 points and 22 rebounds in her team’s 87-81 win over Belgium.

She shot 14-26 from the field, 3-7 from three-point range and 13-14 from the free throw line.

After the game finished, Jones told Clutchpoints about the differences in the WNBA and international play.

She said: “I think overseas in general, the crowd, has a bigger appreciation for women’s basketball. I think it is way better than it is in the WNBA. You can go from a game where the gym is full to some games where there are a few people in the stands. I do not think they fully appreciate women’s basketball and the level it is played at,” Jones said.

“When I come overseas I definitely always appreciate that and appreciate people loving us and watching us, and understanding that we put a lot of time in our game. I think that is the biggest difference. WNBA, talent wise, is up there, there is a lot of talent every night and every team can win. Overall, the atmosphere overseas is second to none.”

The second leg of the qualifiers will take place in 2022 when Bosnia and Herzegovina face Germany on November 24 and Belgium on November 27.

In 2023, they will face North Macedonia on February 9 and Germany on February 12. A total of 30 countries are participating in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers.

Teams are divided into 10 groups, with each team playing the others in its group in home-and-away games, following a round-robin system over three windows in November 2021, November 2022 and February 2023.

Ten group winners and the four best second-placed teams will qualify for the Final Round of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 to fill the remaining fourteen spots.

Israel and Slovenia are directly qualified as the hosts of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023.

Jones will now return to her UMMC Ekaterinburg Foxes in the Russian Premier League. The Foxes will return to RPL regular season play on November 18 against Einsley. Their next Women’s EuroLeague game will be November 24 against MBA Moscow.