Jones, Sun dominate the paint, top Seattle 93-86 at sold-out Mohegan Sun

Sep. 1—MOHEGAN — There are days that Brionna Jones, coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon which limited her to 13 games last season, still isn’t feeling 100%.

Then there are days like Sunday, when Jones, the Connecticut Sun‘s 6-foot-3 All-Star forward, catches the ball in the paint and can do whatever she wants with it.

“Honestly, get my assists, that’s all I wanted to do,” Sun point guard Ty Harris said with a grin of continuing to feed the ball to Jones. “She can finish with both hands, so it’s just amazing. Her skill set is unbelievable, so I’m glad she’s on our team.”

Jones finished with a season-high 26 points in a 93-86 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday before a sold-out crowd of 8,910 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena, adding six rebounds, two blocks and an assist for the second-place Sun (24-8).

Jones scored 17 points in the second half, including an eight-point run all her own beginning with about four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game and the Sun clinging to a 72-68 lead. It was her highest-scoring game since June 15, 2023, when she scored 28 points against Atlanta.

Marina Mabrey added 15 points, DiJonai Carrington 14, Harris 13 and Veronica Burton 11. Alyssa Thomas, listed as questionable prior to the game after suffering a lower right leg injury in Saturday’s victory at Washington, started against the Storm and finished with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

“I think early on we were getting postups and it was working so we went back to it,” Jones said of the late barrage inside, giving the Sun a total of 56 points in the paint, a season high.

“Just finishing plays. They continued to find me. Ty made some great passes inside, just working that inside-out game. We did such a great job last game knocking down our 3s and then this game in the paint, so just that versatility of being able to do both. … I think it’s just taking what the defense is giving us and attacking it.”

Mabrey finished with a team-high 21 points in Saturday’s 96-85 win at Washington, including five 3-point field goals, with the Sun shooting 14 of 23 from long range.

On Sunday, Connecticut turned its dominance from outside to in.

The Sun led by as many as 13 points with 4:36 to play in the second quarter on a 6-foot hook shot by Jones assisted by Burton. Burton’s 3-pointer with 30 seconds left gave the team a 65-56 lead at the break.

Seattle whittled the lead to 72-68 on a jump shot by Nneka Ogwumike from the right corner with 4:47 remaining in the game.

Jones followed that by going to work. She made a layup and was fouled by Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor. After Magbegor scored at the other end to make it 74-70, Jones drew another foul against Magbegor, her fourth, hitting both free throws. Thomas then hit a cutting Jones for another layup, making it 78-70 and prompting a Storm timeout.

Jones’ fourth straight Sun basket came at the 3:07 mark, a pass threaded through the middle by Thomas for another layup and a foul on Ogwumike. That gave Connecticut an 80-72 lead.

Seattle would pull within three at 84-81 on a three-point play by Ogwumike with 1:07 left, but Mabrey spoiled the Storm’s comeback with a floating bank shot and the Sun finished things out at the foul line.

“That’s a tough schedule,” Jones said of the back-to-back weekend games. “I was thinking about it on the plane last night when we were coming in, ‘We’ve got to play in less than 12 hours.’ I mean, nobody cares that we had a back-to-back or that we’re tired. I think it’s just stepping up and being ready and being the best we can mentally and physically once we step on that court.”

Jewell Loyd finished with 27 points for Seattle (19-13) and Ogwumike had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

UConn grad Gabby Williams, who signed with the Storm following her appearance for France in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, earning the silver medal, started and had four points and three assists. Rookie Nika Muhl, also a UConn grad, is on the Storm roster but did not play.

The teams play again at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun (NBC Sports Boston), a meeting which will decide the season series. The Sun lost at Seattle on June 23, 72-61.

v.fulkerson@theday.com