The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JONQUEL Jones and the Connecticut Sun concluded the WNBA regular season with wins in nine of their last 11 games and head into the playoffs as a legitimate title contender.

The Sun (25-11) clinched the no.3 overall seed with a 90-83 win over the Minnesota Lynx yesterday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Connecticut will host the no.6 seed Dallas Wings on August 18 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Gametime is at 8pm and will be broadcast live, both on ESPNU and NBA TV.

Jones and the other starters played limited minutes in the finale and the reigning MVP finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots. Every active Sun player on the roster saw playing time in the first quarter and the team took a 45-34 at halftime. Jones scored 10 of her 12 in the first half and led the Sun to a 30-12 advantage in the paint.

In 33 games this season, Jones averaged 14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. She also shot 51 percent from the field, 80 percent from the free throw line, and 37 percent from beyond the arc. Jones has recorded 11 double-doubles this season, just one of six players in the WNBA with more than 10 double-doubles. She has scored in double figures in 27 games and finished top 10 in the league in blocks (38) and blocks per game (1.2).

Jones also ranked third in the league with 283 total rebounds and fourth on average at 8.6 rebounds per game. She also posted averages of 1.1 steals and 1.8 assists in just over 26 minutes per game.

Among her many accolades this season, Jones became the Sun’s all-time leader in blocked shots. She reached the milestone in an August 11 win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

She finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Her block on Chennedy Carter in the third quarter gave her 267 to surpass the previous mark of 266 from Taj McWilliams-Franklin.

Jones now has 270 blocks in her WNBA career. She was also named a WNBA All-Star for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in her career.

While her usage rate and minutes are slightly down from the 2021, Jones’ per 36 minutes are comparable to her 2021 MVP campaign.

Her usage rate was 26.3 in 2021 in 42 minutes per game and is down to 23.3 this season in just over 26 minutes per game.

The WNBA will debut another new playoff format this season. In previous seasons, top seeds have received first and second round byes but now the league will shift to a standard three-round bracket format.

The first round will be best-of-three, while the semifinals and finals will be best-of-five.