The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JONQUEL Jones is having an All-Star calibre season for the Connecticut Sun and the second-year forward is seeking help from the Bahamian public in her selection bid.

WNBA All-Star Voting 2017, presented by Verizon, opened Tuesday afternoon. Verizon WNBA All-Star 2017 will be played on Saturday, July 22 at KeyArena, home of the Seattle Storm. The game will be broadcast on ABC at 3:30pm.

Jones took to Facebook to garner support from local fans.

“Its time to get in formation! This season has been great so far and while I’m never the one to boast, I’m playing at an All-Star level! The thing is I only become an All Star with your help!

“Post a status with the hashtag #WNBAVOTE Jonquel Jones , to send me to the all star game! You can vote 10 times a day but each vote must have my name once! Please 242 I need y’all. Likes DO NOT count as votes so post a status if you want your girl in this year’s all star game! Let’s shoot for 10 status’ a day. Share it as well to get the word around!”

The WNBA will take a three-tier approach to All-Star Voting this year which will include media, WNBA players/coaches and fans.

Fan voting, an all-digital programme, will conclude on Thursday, July 6 at 9pm. WNBA fans may submit one full ballot each day through WNBA.com (desktop or mobile) or the WNBA App (available on Android and iOS). Fans may also vote for up to 10 players per day on Twitter and Facebook.

In just under two weeks, the leading vote-getters in each conference will be announced Thursday, June 29 on ESPN2 as Jones and the Sun take on the Seattle Storm.

All-Star Starters will then be announced live on ESPN on Tuesday, July 11 during the noon edition of SportsCenter.

WNBA head coaches will select reserves for both conferences, which will be announced July 18, live on ESPN2

Jones posted another double-double last weekend and led the Connecticut Sun to their first home win of the year.

She finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds to lift the shorthanded Sun to a dominant 104-71 over the Atlanta Dream at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night.

The performance lifted her averages to 14.5 points, a league-leading 12.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in just over 27 minutes per game.

In her sophomore season, Jones is on a record rebounding pace.

Jones opened the season primed for a breakout year and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in the Sun’s 81-74 loss to the Atlanta Dream. Jones’ rebound total was the most by a Sun player since Tina Charles grabbed 22 boards back in 2012. Jones finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds - both game highs - in the Sun’s 81-79 loss to the Indiana Fever the following weekend. On May 28, she posted a historic performance when she went off for 23 points and 21 rebounds. She became just the third player in league history, joining the aforementioned Charles and Sylvia Fowles, to have multiple 20-rebound games in the same season. At her current rebounding rate, Jones is on pace to surpass Charles’ total rebound record of 398, set in 2010.

In a WNBA.com article by Justin Lester, Jones said her teammates’ confidence in her has been vital in her improvement this season.

“I think I just have a better understanding of the game and what to expect. I feel like my teammates are trusting me more and we’re trusting each other. Even though it’s not showing up in the win column, we’re playing together and we’ll get over the hump,” Jones said.

“Anytime an organisation believes in you like that, you want to play well for them. Especially coming out of college, and I wasn’t in one of the power conferences. I’m still trying to prove them right every time I step on the court.”

How to vote:

• WNBA.com player index page at WNBA.com/vote: Fill out one full ballot per day (defined as once every 24 hours) on WNBA.com/vote from a desktop or mobile browser. Fans can choose from all active WNBA players when selecting a minimum of (1) player or up to (10) players per ballot.

• WNBA App: Access the ballot and vote through the app, which is available on Android and iOS. Fans can fill out one full ballot per day (defined as once every 24 hours). Fans can choose from all active WNBA players when selecting a minimum of (1) player or up to (10) players per ballot. The WNBA App can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

• Twitter: Tweet, retweet or reply with a WNBA player’s first and last name or Twitter handle, along with the WNBA All-Star Voting hashtag #WNBAVOTE. Each tweet may include only one player’s name or handle. Fans may vote for 10 unique players each day throughout the WNBA All-Star voting period. Tweets must include the hashtag #WNBAVOTE to be counted as valid votes. Retweets will count as valid votes. Also, each Twitter user must have the “protect my tweets” option unchecked under the account’s privacy settings for the votes to count.

• Facebook: Post on your personal Facebook account, or comment on another’s Facebook post the player’s first and last name along with the hashtag #WNBAVOTE. Each post may include only one player’s name. Fans may post votes for 10 unique players per day throughout the voting period. Facebook status posts must include the hashtag #WNBAVOTE to be counted as valid votes.