Team wondering what hit them after getting blasted again
- Simba French
- Oct 13, 2023
- 0
Bahamian professional women’s basketball player Jonquel ‘JJ’ Jones notched her eighth consecutive double-double of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) playoffs but it wouldn’t be enough as the New York Liberty was routed, 104-76, by the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday. The Aces now go up 2-0 in that best-of-five series.
Jones came away with a team-high 22 points and added 10 rebounds in 30 minutes on the floor. That was not enough as they still got blown out the water again. They lost the first game by 17 points, and then dropped Game Two by 28 points. The center was hot from the field where she went 8-for-12, shooting 66.7 percent. She also played hard on the defensive end as she came away with four blocked shots.https://ffa32b7582c8b3f6a36b46c491027883.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
The Aces’ A’ja Wilson led all scorers with an efficient 26 points and added 15 rebounds.
The Liberty never led in the game as the Aces picked up the wire-to-wire win to put Liberty’s back against the wall. The Aces used a 19-2 scoring run to lead 38-19 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Liberty pushed back and got the lead down to single digits when Sabrina Ionescu hit a three-point shot. At that point, they trailed 50-41 with 2:17 left in that half. Jones sank three free throws to make it a game. The Aces led 50-44 with 25 seconds remaining in the first half, and the quarter ended with the Aces up 52-44. The Liberty outscored Aces 25-14 in that quarter. Jones finished the first half with 19 points.
Wilson made a jump shot at the 9:14 mark of the third quarter to put them up double digits, 54-44. From there, the lead never shrunk to within single digits again. The Aces outscored the Liberty by 20 points, 52-32, in the second half.
The Liberty had a rough night from the field, shooting at a 36.1 percent clip while the Aces made 52.9 percent of their shots. The Aces moved the ball better, and made more shots, dishing out 31 assists compared to the Liberty’s 19.
Jones has been superb in these playoffs, averaging a double-double at 16.9 points and 12.1 rebounds to go with 2.3 blocks per game. She is shooting at a 55.2 percent clip in eight games. The sixth pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft has set a record for most double-doubles in a postseason which is at eight and counting.
It is a tall task for Jones and Liberty to win three straight games against the number one seeded Aces. Fortunately for them, they are headed home to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, for Game Three, and if necessary, Game Four as well. Game Five, if necessary, will return to Las Vegas. Game Three is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 15, and will be televised on ABC.