Jonquel Jones returns to the Liberty lineup, leads team scoring in win over Fever

NEW YORK (AP) – During the Liberty’s lineup announcement Tuesday night, one name brought the Barclays Center crowd to its feet: Jonquel Jones. She held up a heart to the crowd.

In the words of head coach Sandy Brondello – “It’s a happy day. JJ’s back.”

The Liberty star center officially returned to the court in New York’s 98-84 win over the Fever on Tuesday night. Jones, last season’s WNBA Finals MVP, was playing for the first time since June 19 with an ankle injury and scored a team-high 18 points.

“It felt great to be back out there,” Jones said after the game. “Obviously, it’s been a while since I’ve been on the court, but my teammates have held it down while I was out, and everybody was excited for me to be back in. And I was just as excited.”

Jones, the Liberty’s third-highest scorer, has averaged 12.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season, while shooting 43.8 percent from behind the arc. New York struggled in her absence, going 5-4 after starting out the season 9-0. They are undefeated with Jones on the court.

It’s been a touch-and-go season for Jones so far. She’d been limited to just 10 games this season, initially injuring her ankle in early June and taking a brief absence before returning and aggravating the injury.