Center Brionna Jones attempts to position herself for an offensive rebound during Maryland’s 102-53 victory over UMass Lowell on Nov. 14, 2015 at Xfinity Center.
Center Brionna Jones was a model of consistency in the Terrapins women’s basketball team’s frontcourt the first three games, but impressive outings from other players overshadowed her performance.
While Jones scored 10 points and brought down nine rebounds against UMass Lowell in the season opener, guard Brene Moseley poured in 24 and tallied 10 assists off the bench. Guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough totaled 26 points four days later, outshining Jones’ 18 points and 10 rebounds. And against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 20, forward Kiah Gillespie’s 18 points led the way in the Terps’ third straight win.
But at the Paradise Jam, a three-day event in St. Thomas, Jones’ contributions couldn’t be ignored. The preseason All-Big Ten honoree averaged 17.7 points and 13 rebounds per game — she posted a double-double in each contest — and earned the Reef Division MVP as the Terps left the U.S. Virgin Islands with three victories.
“Unguardable,” Walker-Kimbrough said Saturday of Jones. “We always look for her. I mean, she gave us energy this whole entire tournament, and we fed off her. She helped us defensively, rebounding and then she scored for us. So she was definitely our engine.”
READ MORE: Jones leads Maryland past Pittsburgh
Jones is averaging 10 boards per game this season, and her 15.2 points per contest rank second on the team behind Walker-Kimbrough. Both players, who were named to the preseason top-30 list for the Wooden Award on Nov. 17, made the all-tournament team.
“They did a tremendous job leading this team for three days, and just the consistency performance by the both of the them,” coach Brenda Frese said. “Just tremendous leaders for our team.”
Walker-Kimbrough and Moseley shouldered the scoring production in the tournament opener Thursday against Old Dominion — the duo combined for 42 points on 16-of-19 shooting — but Jones provided a steady option down low. The 6-foot-3 junior had 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds over 21 minutes in the Terps’ 95-49 thrashing of the Lady Monarchs.
Jones really made her presence felt against South Dakota State a day later, though, as she scored a team-high 21 points and made 10 of her 15 field goals despite battling foul trouble. She had two fouls before halftime and picked up her fourth personal with the Terps up 54-50 and less than two minutes to go.
“[Jones] wasn’t really allowed to be physical,” Frese said Friday night. “Just the foul trouble hurt her from being on the floor even more, but I thought she did a great job in terms of being that X-factor inside for us.”
But before committing her second fourth-quarter foul, it was Jones’ back-to-back layups that put her team up four and gave the Terps a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. It wasn’t a blowout, but the Terps pulled out the 62-55 win.
And with the Reef Division title on the line Saturday night against Pittsburgh, Jones delivered her strongest outing of the tournament. Behind a barrage of layups, the Havre de Grace native scored a game-high 22 points in the 70-49 win.
In the postgame news conference, a reporter also referred to Jones as “the team’s engine” because of her ability to impact the team offensively and on the glass. After quietly producing earlier in the season, Jones earned her right to be the team’s center of attention at the conclusion of the three-day event.
“I definitely embrace that role,” Jones said. “I was just trying to be whatever the team needed, whether it be defensively, offensively, just being motivating to people and just helping the team win today.”
