Elena Delle Donne and the Washington Mystics soared in back-to-back wins over the Chicago Sky. Now the WNBA title contender hopefuls aim to shine against the visiting Connecticut Sun in a Wednesday matinee. That's assuming rising star Jonquel Jones doesn't have other ideas.
Delle Donne scored 20 points against her former team in Friday's 88-79 win in Washington. Tayler Hill had 19 points for the Mystics (3-2), who opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run. The lead ballooned to 61-38 as the Sky didn't score for the opening 6:33 of the second half, but Chicago pulled within eight in the fourth quarter.
"Our defense was really disruptive," Delle Donne told the Washington Post. "We just need to carry that over and have that in all four quarters."
The victory came after the Mystics ended a two-game slide with an 82-67 victory over the Sky on Wednesday in Delle Donne's first game back in Chicago since forcing a trade that landed her in Washington. The 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player ranks among the league leaders in scoring (21.2) and field-goal percentage (55.7) while hitting 32-of-33 free throws.
The Mystics will need that type of production from Delle Donne and stepped up help elsewhere with Emma Meesseman overseas for the next month. The league leader in 3-point shooting last season is with the Belgium national team for next month's FIBA World Championship.
Krystal Thomas replaced Meesseman in the starting lineup at home against Chicago and finished with 10 rebounds.
"Whether I'm starting or coming off the bench I want to do the same thing," Thomas said. "Try to get as many rebounds as I can ... just competing and battling on every possession.
Competing might not be enough on the glass against the Sun (1-4). Jones, who spent her college career in Washington at George Washington University, set career highs with 23 points and 21 rebounds in the Sun's 97-79 victory at Chicago on Sunday.
The 6-foot-6 center, who had 20 rebounds in the season opener, became the third player in league history with at least 20 rebounds in multiple games during a season. The sixth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft is providing Connecticut the inside play needed following the season-ending injury to Chiney Ogwumike.
"(Jonquel) is going to be able to play through mistakes," Sun coach Curt Miller recently told the Norwich Bulletin. "She is going to have to stay on the floor through those mistakes. She is going to have a great opportunity to really blossom on the WNBA scene in what we truly believe will be a breakout year for her."
Jones' work before the WNBA season helped boost her game.
"Playing in Korea put me back in the mindset that I could do a lot of the stuff that I wanted to do on the court," Jones told ESPN. "Coming into training camp, a lot of my teammates said I could do a lot of the things I want to do as well."
Jones leads the Sun in scoring (14.6) and rebounding (12.2). Morgan Tuck (11.8) is one of four Connecticut players averaging double figures.
