Sun gear up for WNBA playoffs with weekend games at Phoenix and Los Angeles

A first-round bye and home playoff game are now a certainty.

The Connecticut Sun, who end their WNBA regular reason on the West Coast this weekend with games against Phoenix (today, 10 p.m.) and defending champion Los Angeles (Sunday, 4 p.m.), still have a chance to secure the No. 3 overall seed, but their most important goal is staying healthy.

Connecticut (21-11) leads rival New York (2012) by a game. The Liberty host San Antonio on Friday and finish at Dallas on Sunday. The Sun and Liberty split their four-game season series, so if they end up tied a series of tiebreakers will determine the third and fourth seeds.

Minnesota and Los Angeles have already clinched the top two seeds and double byes into the best-of-five semifinals.

The Sun hope to use the holiday weekend to build momentum heading into the playoffs. Connecticut will host a second-round game on Sunday, Sept. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The season-ending road trip started on a positive note with an 86-76 win over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday, a victory that earned the praise of Mystics coach Mike Thibault.

"They have a continuity to their team," Thibeault said of the Sun. "They have a toughness about them right now . ... They can put five scorers on the court at the same time who are committed at both ends for the most part."

One of those players is 6-foot-6 center Jonquel Jones, who has become an all-star in just her second season and leads the Sun in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (12.0.). Jones 22 rebounds in the win over Washington, becoming only the second player in WNBA history (New York's Tina Charles is the other) to have three 20-rebound games in a season.

She has 384 rebounds and needs only 15 in the final two games to break the WNBA single-season record of 398 set by Charles in 2010.

"I mean, she's a monster," teammate Alyssa Thomas said of Jones after Tuesday's game. "She could have two or three girls hanging on her arms and she will still find a way to get a rebound, so I means she's a huge contributor to this team and need her to come to every game with that."

Thomas is also having a breakout out year for Connecticut. She scored a career-high 26 points against the Mystics, posted her fifth double-double of the season and is averaging 14.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game.

Phoenix (16-16) is also trying to improve its playoff seeding. The Mercury are led by center Britney Griner (21.2 points, 7.7 rebounds) and Diana Taurasi (18.3 points). Taurasi scored 33 points against the Sun back on Aug. 4, a 93-92 Connecticut win at Mohegan Sun Arena.

— Day Staff Reports