By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JONQUEL Jones returned to the court for the Connecticut Sun for the first time in 582 days and delivered a pair of dominant performances in wins for her team on WNBA opening weekend.

Jones had 26 points and eight rebounds in Friday night’s season opener - a 78-67 win over the Atlanta Dream.

And last night, she followed with 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in a 86-78 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.

Yesterday’s performance marked the 40th career double-double for the Sun, making her the third player in franchise history with 40 or more in their careers.

She reached another career milestone with 200 career blocks in the WNBA. Jones is the 40th player to reach that mark and 14th fastest (138 games). She is also the first member of the 2016 WNBA draft class to reach 200 career blocks.

In the season debut, Jones scored 16 of her 28 points in the first quarter to help the Sun build a 22-17 advantage. They eventually led 43-33 at halftime.

Behind Jones’ near double double, Connecticut also outrebounded Atlanta 42-26.

“It’s about the energy and effort. You can have a game where you’re not shooting well, you can have a game where things are just not going down, but the energy and effort should be consistent,” Jones said. “I think that’s how we will maintain winning basketball games and being successful. Our energy and effort will be two of the staples that really drive this team so we want to stay focused on that.”

Jones opted out of the shortened 2020 WNBA season amid COVID-19 pandemic concerns and went on to have a successful season in Europe which included three titles with UMMC Ekaterinburg. Without Jones last season, the Sun went 10-12 and advanced to the WNBA Semifinals. She returned to the Sun Wednesday following her completion of COVID-19 protocols.

In the 2019 WNBA season, Jones was named to the All-WNBA Second Team, the All-Defensive Team and an All-Star for the second time. The Sun advanced to the Eastern Conference final before they were eliminated by the Las Vegas Aces.

“It means a lot to be back with this team and this organisation. This is where I’ve been my entire WNBA career. Just watching the games last summer, I felt like I was missing out and I missed being out there with them, so it’s good to be back.

“This organisation is world-class, they treat us very well, and I love being here because Connecticut is just a chill vibe,” Jones said to the Hartford Courant. “I think our ceiling is as high as we want it to go,” she said. “I think we can be a very successful team, but it all comes down to how we mesh on the floor and how we’re able to problem solve as we hit adversity. I know that we’re going to be a good team.”