Home|Sports|Jones, Liberty clinch playoff spotSports
Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 14, 2023 9 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
There is no doubt that Jonquel ‘JJ’ Jones and the new-look New York Liberty are on a mission this season. They clinched a playoff spot in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) before their two games this weekend as the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream both lost on Thursday, giving the Liberty the sporty in the postseason.
This is the third-straight season that the Liberty will be in the playoffs. For Jones, she will be in her sixth consecutive playoffs after missing the postseason in her rookie season in 2016. She took the 2020 bubble season off because of the threat of COVID-19. Liberty Head Coach Sandy Brondello continues her streak of coaching her team to the playoffs, reaching the postseason for an 11th consecutive time.
On Sunday, the Liberty won their sixth consecutive game and ninth of their last 10 with a 100-89 victory over the Indiana Fever at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. With that win, Liberty is off to a franchise best start 24-6 win/loss record.
Jones finished the game with a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win. She finished shooting 5-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point territory.
Leading the way with a game-high 42 points was Liberty’s Breanna Stewart. Kelsey Mitchell scored 22 points to lead the Fever in the loss.
Jones got off to a hot start, scoring six points and going 2-for-2 from deep in the first quarter but they were down 31-29 after one. In the second quarter, Jones tied the game at 34, completing an and-one play with 8:52 left.
After going down 40-36, the Liberty went on a tear, going on a 13-2 scoring run to go up 49-42 with 3:32 left in the quarter. They ended the first half up 58-51. That second quarter was the turning point of the game as the Liberty never trailed again.
The Liberty shot 51.4 percent from the field in the game while the Fever shot 46.5 percent from the field. The game had 13 lead changes and was tied five times, all in the first half of play.
On Friday night, the Liberty took down Chicago Sky, 80-73, at home at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Bahamian poured in 18 points and added seven rebounds in the win. She shot the ball well from the field, making seven of her 12 attempts which included 2-for-3 from deep, in 29 minutes on the court.
The Liberty are off to their best regular season start and have an important matchup against the Las Vegas Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup final at 9 p.m. tomorrow. The game will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Commissioner’s Cup is an in-season tournament during the WNBA regular season that begins at the start of the season and continues throughout the first half of the season. The final is played between the top teams from the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. A total of 60 regular-season contests involving all 12 teams count toward the Cup standings.