CT Sun Notebook: Alyssa Thomas Makes History, Jonquel Jones Returns

Alyssa Thomas made history this week for the Connecticut Sun, who also saw the return of Jonquel Jones.

Thomas recorded the franchise’s first and her first ever WNBA triple-double in Friday’s 94-84 victory over the Minnesota Lynx. She had 15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds on the historic night.

Thomas reflected on her performance following the game, as seen on NESN+ postgame coverage.

“The greatest players in the world play in this league and to leave your mark like that, I think this one is probably the most special to me,” she said.

The Sun were without Jones (health and safety protocols) for the third straight game, and Thomas also discussed what it was like anxiously awaiting the former’s return.

“She’s a big part of what we do, but we have that next-up mentality. We didn’t have her in the (WNBA) Bubble. I didn’t play last season,” the 6-foot-2 forward noted. “We know what it feels like to play without somebody, and everybody steps up and pitches in. If we’re playing this well right now and when we add her back, she’s the reigning MVP, so that just makes us that more dangerous.”

Jones made her return to the lineup in Sunday’s 86-79 win over the Lynx in Minneapolis. Despite limited minutes as she eases back into game action, Jones had a positive impact with eight points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in just 15 minutes.

Here are more CT Sun notes:

— Natisha Hiedeman tied her career-high 19 points Sunday and hit a career-high five 3-pointers. Her impact on offense was easily recognizable.

— Thomas was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday. She averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game as the Sun went 3-0 this week. This is the sixth time she’s earned the honor and the second time this season after doing so May 23.

— The Sun are 5-1 since returning from the All-Star break. They sit in third across the league at 19-9, trailing the first-place Chicago Sky (21-7) and second-place Las Vegas Aces (20-8).

— The Sun have four days off following their game Sunday and head back to Connecticut for three home games over the next week. The first is Thursday against the Seattle Storm and will be Sue Bird’s last time playing in Connecticut, where she started her impressive career in 1998 at UConn.

Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch all three games on NESN+.