Maryland Terrapins' Brionna Jones is espnW's player of the week

Mechelle Voepel

Jan 16, 2017, 03:55 PM

Editor's note: Charlie Creme, Graham Hays and Mechelle Voepel each vote to determine espnW's national player of the week, which is awarded every week of the women's college basketball season.

Maryland's Brionna Jones knows what her bread-and-butter is, and she makes the most of it.

"Bri is your true, back-to-the-basket type of center," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said of the 6-foot-3 senior. "And she's so reliable."

Jones came up big in two games that might have gotten away from the Terrapins otherwise, earning espnW player of the week honors.

In Wednesday's 89-83 victory over Penn State, Jones accounted for almost half of Maryland's points, tying a school record with 42. The mark previously was set by Marissa Coleman in a 2009 NCAA Sweet 16 victory over Vanderbilt.

"A special night for Bri," Frese said after the game. "From coming to campus with the ACL injury, to everything she's done to put herself in this position to be where she is."

Jones was 15-of-19 from the field and 12-of-14 from the foul line. She also had 14 rebounds against Penn State, putting her above 1,000 for her career at Maryland.

Then, Saturday at Iowa, on Frese's return trip to her home state, the Terps struggled with Jones in foul trouble in the second quarter. They trailed the Hawkeyes 37-33 at halftime.

But Jones helped Maryland rally in the second half for a 98-82 victory. She finished with her eighth consecutive double-double, getting 25 points and 10 rebounds. She now has 1,582 points and 1,017 rebounds in her Maryland career.

For the season, Jones is shooting 68.4 percent from the field (143 of 209), which ranks third in Division I. She's averaging 19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds for the 17-1 Terps.

Jones and fellow senior Shatori Walker-Kimbrough are also the experienced leaders for the younger Terps, including Jones' sister, Stephanie. She's a 6-2 forward who is averaging 4.5 points off the bench.

The Jones sisters are from Havre de Grace, Maryland, about 70 miles northeast of College Park. They come from a basketball family. Brother Jarred, who is a year older than Brionna but also a senior as he had to redshirt a season, is a 6-6 forward for Loyola (Maryland). He leads the Greyhounds in scoring (16.1) and rebounding (6.9). And their younger brother, Jordon, a high school junior, also plays basketball.

Brionna said she didn't try to steer Stephanie to Maryland, letting her make her own decision. But she was glad the choice was the Terps. For Frese, it's been a pleasure to have both of them.

"They're great, because they're so coachable," Frese said. "When you talk about competitiveness, work ethic, IQ -- Stephanie's come in and been kind of a clone of Bri in that regard. I think that dynamic has been huge for us, having bookends at both ends with one a freshman and the other a senior."

Stephanie knows her sister's game better than anyone. Brionna is very hard to stop, isn't she?

"Yes!" Stephanie said, chuckling. "I would say she's very physical, a great rebounder, a great defender, and kind of deceptive. She has really good moves around the basket."

Also considered: Jill Barta, Gonzaga; Monique Billings, UCLA; Sophie Brunner, Arizona State; Kelsey Plum, Washington; Brooke Schulte, DePaul