NEW YORK -- 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 coach Sandy Brondello: "It's a happy day. JJ's back."
The Liberty star center 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 because of 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% from behind the arc. New York struggled in her absence, going 5-4 after starting the season 9-0. The Liberty are undefeated with Jones on the court.
It has been a touch-and-go season for Jones so far. She has 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.