Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the WNBA daily as we try to heal from this pandemic.
Jonquel Jones made her return to the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.
(PHOTO CREDIT: John McDonnell/Washington Post.)
The Connecticut Sun needed a boost as they had been floundering a bit since their 8-2 start. Well, that boost was there in the return of MVP candidate Jonquel Jones.
She didn’t waste any time, really. Jonquel had a double-double in the first half alone. By then, the Sun were up by 16 at halftime and the Mystics never really challenged again.
There’s kind of a reason why they didn’t. Sure, the Mystics had Tina Charles. But they only had SIX PLAYERS suited up for the game. I’ll rant about this later. Tina Charles did score 26 but the Sun just overwhelmed them in terms of strength in numbers and energy.
The Sun didn’t need a strong game from DeWanna Bonner, who had an unusually quiet two points. But we’ve seen the improvement of Brionna Jones over the season (14 points, 9 rebounds) and we know Jasmine Thomas can put up numbers (21 points from 7 of 9 from three!). The Sun vault themselves right back into contention with Jonquel back in the fold.
And this time, she’s here to stay.
Bullet Passes
Okay, well, her return didn’t exactly go perfectly.
✌🏼🤣✌🏼 https://t.co/jsJw8CF6F3 pic.twitter.com/6fcJ9FBXUP
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) June 30, 2021
Actually, I take it back. IT WAS PERFECT.
I love this expression.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Dream snapped their three-game losing streak as they barely escaped the New York Liberty. We saw some heartbreaking misses from Betnijah Laney and Sami Whitcomb. Rough.
We see players like Lauren Cox getting cut by teams (at least, she was picked up by the Sparks) and it’s so weird how we brag about how much talent the WNBA has… but yet somehow, the Mystics only had 6 available players? These two things aren’t necessarily related but it’s just… weird.
WNBA Scoreboard
June 29, 2021
Watch This Play
After that defense (and that miss), I loved that twirling lay-up by Crystal Bradford.
CRYSTAL BRADFORD 🥵
💻 https://t.co/fnncD5G4m5 pic.twitter.com/Xo7OLoawOS
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 30, 2021
Atlanta has a glut of guards and Bradford kind of gets lost in the mix of the bigger names. But she’s been having a very good season off the bench.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the WNBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.