New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones sustained a left ankle injury and exited Tuesday's 93-86 loss to the Chicago Sky, with the team confirming she would not return.
Jones appeared to be in significant pain after hitting the ground, pulling her leg up and holding her ankle. She was helped to her feet and limped off the court with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Initially listed as questionable to return in the second quarter, Jones did not rejoin the team for the second half. Following the game, coach Chris DeMarco stated that Jones would be "evaluated in the coming days."
The Liberty have been significantly impacted by injuries this season, having played only two complete games at full strength. The team is also currently without Satou Sabally, who has been sidelined since late June, and Leonie Fiebich, out since early July. Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannès, both healthy for Tuesday's game, have also missed time due to injuries earlier in the season.
"It's tough," said Liberty player Breanna Stewart. "Obviously, we hope JJ will be back quickly but honestly I think Han (Xu) stepped up to the challenge pretty well. As a team we've been through this far too many times and our response needs to be better. When one person goes down, we need to just be even better and next-one-up mentality."
Stewart reached a personal milestone during the game, scoring 22 points to surpass 3,000 career points with the Liberty. She became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach that mark with a single franchise, achieving it in 145 games. This surpasses Arike Ogunbowale, who reached 3,000 points in 150 games. Stewart expressed that while the milestone is significant, she wished it could have been achieved in a winning effort. MADELEINE KENNEY/SPORTS+