The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JONQUEL Jones led UMMC Ekaterinburg to an undefeated regular season and the top overall seed in FIBA EuroLeague Women’s play.

Jones finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Ekaterinburg’s 104-65 win over MBA Moscow yesterday at UMMC Sport Palace in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

The reigning WNBA MVP shot an efficient 9-12 from the field, 1-2 from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line.

In 11 EuroLeague games, Jones is averaging a team-leading 17.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. She currently has the best efficiency rating among all players at 23.5.

Ekaterinburg finished the regular season 14-0 as the EuroLeague’s only undefeated team and at the top of the Group A Standings. The EuroLeague quarterfinals is scheduled for March 8-16 with the semifinals on April 8 and final on April 10.

The Foxes, favoured to repeat as EuroLeague champions for the seventh consecutive year, boasts a roster that also includes Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm), Allie Quigley (Chicago Sky) and Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago Sky).

Jones’ extended offseason last year included three championship titles with the Foxes. They claimed their sixth FIBA Women’s EuroLeague title. The Foxes’ season of milestones also included the Russian Premier League title for the 15th time in club history, and for the 13th consecutive season, along with the RFB Super Cup.

Jones’ return to UMMC follows her leading her Bosnia and Herzegovina programme to a FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 qualification.

Jones led BIH to a 1-1 record and was named TISSOT MVP and a member of the All-Tournament team at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament last weekend in Osaka, Japan.

The reigning WNBA MVP continues to solidify her place as one of the best players in the world and averaged 25.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 52 percent from the field and 44 percent from three.

In game one she finished with 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in a 96-64 loss to Canada.

In the tournament clincher, she finished with 36 points and 23 rebounds in an 87-82 win over the host country. She shot 14-24 from the field, 2-6 from three-point range and also added four assists in 39 minutes.

Despite her recent success and staking a claim as the best women’s basketball player in the world, Jones took to social media to voice her displeasure on the lack of opportunities she has received.

“It’s all a popularity contest and politics in [women’s basketball]. In [men’s basketball] you just gottah be the best. In [women’s basketball] you gottah be the best player, best looking, most marketable, most IG followers, just to sit at the endorsement table. Thank God for [playing] overseas because my bag would’ve been fumbled.

“I’m glad they pay me what I’m worth and see the value in me simply being one of the best at my craft,” Jones said in a series of tweets. “Not to mention me being a black lesbian woman. Lord the seats disappearing from the table as I speak.”