GW alum and former forward for the Revolutionaries Jonquel Jones secured the title of the 2024 WNBA Finals MVP after delivering the New York Liberty’s championship victory Sunday.

The Liberty won a narrow overtime battle over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5, marking their first title in their 28-year history and adding a second MVP win to Jones’ belt. Jones went 5-for-10 from the field and committed four turnovers, while fellow Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggled throughout the series, shooting a combined 14.7 percent compared to Jones’ 56.1 percent.

The GW Hall of Fame inductee averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in the five-game series. The first WNBA title for Jones comes months after she joined the Liberty from the Connecticut Sun, joining the ranks alongside fellow stars Stewart and Ionescu. Throughout the series last weekend, Jones shot 56 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from behind the 3-point line and went 19-of-19 from the free-throw line. 

Jones did not return a request for comment.

Jones was drafted sixth overall in the 2016 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks before her draft rights were traded to the Connecticut Sun. In 2021, the five-time All-Star was named WNBA MVP as the starting center of the Connecticut Sun while averaging 19.4 points per game and leading the league with 11.2 rebounds per game on the best regular-season team in the league. The Sun ultimately fell short to the eventual champion Chicago Sky in four games in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

After spending her freshman year with the Clemson Tigers, Jones played her final three seasons with the Revolutionaries from 2013 to 2016. In Jones’ debut season, she led the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game, making a name for herself as the only player in the Atlantic 10 to average a double-double that season and putting up an impressive 10.9 rebounds per game in 23 contests. In her junior year, Jones built off of her sophomore season by averaging 15.3 points per game alongside 12.5 rebounds.

GW ranked 19th in the country that year and clinched an NCAA tournament berth following a 75-62 win over Dayton in the A-10 Championship, their first appearance since 2008 and first A-10 title since 2003. Jones led the team in scoring, dropping 21 points and snagging 6 rebounds. 

Her junior season was enough to win her the A-10 Player of the Year for the 2014-15 season, as well as the Defensive Player of the Year. In her senior season with the Revs, Jones averaged 16.2 points per game and a nation-leading 14.6 rebounds per game while recording a career-high 3.3 blocks per game. Jones was the only player in the A-10 to average a double-double for the third season in a row. Jones led GW to a 26-7 record and an eventual 63-60 A-10 Championship win over Duquesne.