Jonquel, Liberty look to bounce back after Sunday’s loss to Sky

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Jonquel Jones and the New York Liberty will look to bounce back from this past weekend’s loss against the Chicago Sky.

The team fell to the Sky 86-82 after blowing a double-digit lead in the third quarter of the game on Sunday.

However, tonight they will take on the 1-6 Minnesota Lynx at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 7pm in hopes of returning to their early season winning ways.

In their last game, Grand Bahama’s Jones turned in nine points, to go with 6 rebounds and two assists in the loss.

The Bahamian professional player has had some ongoing struggles since coming back from a foot injury, and is averaging career lows in points per game (9) and rebounds (4) on her new team.

With the Liberty, Jones is also playing 18.3 minutes per game which is the second lowest of the 29-year old’s career.

On the defensive end, Jones is averaging one block and 0.2 steals which are also career lows for her so far.

Despite a rocky start to the season by the forward, her team has enjoyed some early season success, sitting third overall in the WNBA with a 4-2 win/loss record.

The team sits behind the Las Vegas Aces and Jones’ former squad Connecticut Sun. Her teammate Breanna Stewart, who joined the team after signing in the offseason, is having quite the start.

The forward is averaging career highs in points with 23.7, rebounds with 10.5, and assists with 3.5. Jones’ teammate has also been on a tear with double doubles as of late, having three consecutive games where she notched double digits in points and rebounds. The Liberty team will look to make big waves in the 2023 WNBA season after turning in a 16-20 sub .500 record last season.

Following their active offseason in which they acquired Jones in a three-team deal with the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings, former 2018 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Stewart and four-time All-Star Courtney Vandersloot, the team is off to a better start.

Last season, the team averaged 79.6 points per game and allowed opponents to score 82.0.

However, the star-studded lineup has their sights set on the WNBA championship.

With Jones already having an MVP under her belt, the championship would be the first of her career.

The 11th overall Lynx will have their hands full tonight as the Liberty will try to regroup against them.

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