By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Connecticut Sun front office decided to alter its roster after a disappointing start to the season and the recent move has already paid dividends for Jonquel Jones.

Jones finished with a rookie season high 16 points and tied her season high with nine rebounds in the Sun’s 86-75 loss to the Phoenix Mercury last night at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

She also added three blocks and two steals in a season high 29 minutes.

The Mercury opened the game with a 13-2 run and led the entire way. Connecticut trimmed the deficit to four at halftime after trailing by 15 early in the second quarter.

Phoenix, seventh in the AP WNBA power poll, opened the second half with a 15-2 run to take a 56-39 lead. The 11th-ranked Sun (3-13) got no closer than 72-64 on Jonquel Jones’ 3-pointer with 5:50 left.

The additional minutes in the front court were made available to Jones once the Sun traded Kelsey Bone to the Mercury for rookie Courtney Williams and the draft rights to Jillian Alleyne, as well as a second round pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft.

 In 2015, Bone earned the WNBA’s Most Improved Player Award after averaging a career-high 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. This season, she averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds through the first 14 games of the year.

On the season Jones is averaging 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and one block in just over 12 minutes per game.

It was her third game of the season where she played over 20 minutes and has been extremely efficient in each outing. In those three games she has averaged 11.6 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals per game.

Jones has been in the media recently for her play on the court as well as her relationship with childhood friend and fellow lottery pick Buddy Hield.

Both players were drafted No.6 in their respective drafts, Jones at No.6 by the LA Sparks before she was traded to Connecticut and Hield by the New Orleans Pelicans.

“The whole Bahamas is really excited about it. Having two first-rounders in the same year, that’s unprecedented,” Jones said. “Everything that he’s done he deserves it because he works so hard. Every time you hear a story about his work ethic, everything I’ve heard has been the exact truth.”

Hield returned the favour of compliments to Jones reminiscing on the days when they first stepped on the court together at Hugh Campbell Primary School in Grand Bahama.

“She’s a hard worker and we’d get to compete against each other every day in practice,” Hield said at the NBA Draft. “She used to play against us, the boys, and she used to kill us. From day one, I knew she was going to make it. She told me we were going to see each other at the Draft. Now we’re here.”