On a New York Liberty team with the recently-named MVP Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney and Courtney Vandersloot, there were times throughout the season when Jonquel Jones was an afterthought. Sunday afternoon’s Game 4 of the semifinals against the Connecticut Sun was not one of those times.
A trip to the Finals was up for grabs, and Jones was determined not to let it slip away. She turned in a performance that showed why she is a former MVP, finishing with 25 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for a monster double-double that helped the Liberty secure an 87-84 victory and a 3-1 series win.
There have been eight games in WNBA playoff history where a player has had at least 25 points and 15 rebounds; Jones now has two of them. If you include the four blocks, that’s only been done five times. As a result, the Liberty are on to the Finals for the first time since 2002, where they’ll face the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in a long-awaited superteam showdown.
On the very first possession of Game 4, Jones grabbed a loose ball under the basket and drew a foul. She only made one of the two ensuing free throws, but the sequence foreshadowed what to come in a contest that was about effort…
