Connecticut’s Jonquel Jones, right, had a game-high 21 points in Tuesday night’s win over Los Angeles. (File photo)
It took a few minutes for the Connecticut Sun to get going Tuesday night but once they did, they were off and running in a 97-71 win over the Los Angeles Sparks that clinched the No. 3 spot in the WNBA playoffs for the Sun.
The Spark scored the first seven points of the game and led 10-2 after two minutes but the Sun used a 15-3 run to seize command of the contest and never took their foot off the throttle at the Crypto.com Arena – formerly the Staples Center.
Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Sun with Brionna Jones scoring 14 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Natisha Hiedeman had 13 points while Alyssa Thomas chipped in with 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
Connecticut (23-11) had 13 steals including four from Thomas and three each from Bonner and Odyssey Sims. The Sun led by as many as 21 points in the first half and had a 29-point lead in the second half. All 10 Sun players got into the game and everyone scored at least two points.
“It was a nice win for us on the road after getting into that 2-10 hole,” Sun coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “We did a lot of nice things tonight. We did a good job on the glass. We did a good job in transition. Our bench was very solid for us.”
With the win, Connecticut will be seeded no lower than third in the eight-team WNBA playoffs that begin next week on August 17. The Sun could move up to No. 2 with another win over the Sparks on Thursday night and beating Minnesota on Saturday. But Las Vegas (24-10) would have to lose twice at home to Chicago and Seattle for the Sun to slip past them.
A No. 3 seed means home court advantage in the first round of the best-of-3 WNBA playoffs with the first two games at the higher seed,
Jonquel Jones had an outstanding game against Los Angeles, including 12 of her 21 points in the second quarter. “She had great diversity in her game tonight,” Miller said. “She was dominate around the glass. She wanted the ball. She demanded the ball and she was aggressive even before she got the ball.”
Said Jonquel Jones, “When the moment is right, I try to make the most out of it and am ready to be aggressive.”
Los Angeles (13-21) led 10-2 but the Sun responded with a 16-0 run with eight points from Jonquel Jones and a three-point shot from Bonner to cap off a run that turned an eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead.
The Sparks cut the lead to five points, 35-30, with 4:58 left in the second quarter after Nneka Ogwumike stole the ball and drove to the basket for two of her 16 points.
But Jonquel Jones responded with a three-point shot to begin a 18-2 run to close out the second quarter and turn a five-point lead into a 21-point halftime lead.
Thomas drove to the basket and sank a foul shot to complete a three-point play before Jonquel Jones had back-to-back baskets in the lane to boost the lead to 13. Bonner had a steal and a layup along with Thomas before Jonquel Jones ended the quarter with her third three-point shot of the half.
In the second half, the Connecticut lead never went below 18 points.
Brittney Sykes had 18 points for the Sparks while Jordin Canada added 16.
The two teams play again on Thursday night beginning at 10:30 p.m. here on the East Coast.
