The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN A match-up between two of the hottest teams in the WNBA, Jonquel Jones posted her league leading 16th double double of the season as her Connecticut Sun clinched the No 1 overall seed in the postseason.

Jones finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Sun to a 76-67 win over the Phoenix Mercury Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Connecticut extended their win streak to 12 games to tie a franchise record, and simultaneously ended the Mercury’s win streak at 10. It was just the second time in league history that a pair of teams with double-digit win streaks faced each other (Los Angeles Sparks vs. Minnesota Lynx in 2016).

With a record of 24-6, the Sun claimed the top seed throughout the postseason. Just two games remain the regular season, both at home. The Sun will host the New York Liberty on September 15 and close out the regular season on September 19 against the Atlanta Dream.

“Honestly I think it just feels like we’re clicking at the right time, we’re peaking at the right time, sometimes you peak early in the season, sometimes you peak like a little bit in the middle but I think we’re peaking at the right time,” Jones said, “The tempo that we’re playing at is really good, our defense is locked in every night, Everybody is contributing and we’re just really hard to stop.”

Jones, a frontrunner for MVP and the league’s fourth leading scorer at 19.6 points per game, said the team has truly adapted the concept of playing as a cohesive unit in all aspects of the game as they continue to pursue the first title in franchise history.

“Tonight offensively wasn’t my best but everyone else is stepping up, I was able to be a defender and a rebounder for the most part, she said, “That’s what it takes to be a championship team, we understand that and we’re peaking at the right time.”

In an accolade filled 2021 campaign, Jones was recently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and 11th time in her WNBA career. This season, she has also been named Kia WNBA Player of the Month twice, in June and August.

Through 25 games this season, Jones currently ranks third in the league in scoring at 19.9 points per game and leads the league on the board at 11.2 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 79 percent from the free throw line.