Last season, Jones-Brown played in 30 games as a freshman, starting eight, averaging 24 minutes per game. This season, she has started all ten games for the Beach and has more than doubled her scoring average, going from 7.1 points to 16.5 points.<\/p>\n
According to Long Beach State head coach Amy Wright, Jones-Brown\u2019s big leap has come out of necessity. The team lost four of its top-five scorers from last season, and the fifth, forward Mykelle Richards<\/a>, is currently sidelined due to injury. They\u2019ve needed all of the offense Jones-Brown has provided.<\/p>\n Want even more women\u2019s sports in your inbox?<\/p>\n Subscribe now to The IX Sports<\/a> and receive our daily women\u2019s sports newsletter covering soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers. That includes Basketball Wednesday from founder and editor Howard Megdal.<\/p>\n Readers of The IX Basketball now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think she\u2019s had a choice. Last year, we had a couple of scorers. Sav [Savannah Tucker] led the conference in scoring. So she was able to kind of take her cues from there,\u201d Wright said following Long Beach State\u2019s loss to UCLA on Saturday. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re still trying to find pieces that will fit around JaQuoia. We knew it was there.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to Jones-Brown\u2019s scoring average, she\u2019s also pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game and dishing out 2.3 assists. Her defense has been solid as well, and she\u2019s disrupting offenses to the tune of 1.4 steals.<\/p>\n Sometimes, with increased usage, a player\u2019s shooting efficiency can suffer. But Jones-Brown has mostly maintained her efficiency with the added offensive responsibility. She shot 41.4% from the field as a freshman and is shooting 39.6% this season. Her 3-point percentage has stayed consistent at 33.3%.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s with her taking more shots. She\u2019s upped her shot attempts from 6.4 to 14.9 this season. She\u2019s taking 2.7 attempts from 3-point range, up from 1.7 last year. Long Beach State has winter break coming up, but that won\u2019t stop Jones-Brown from being in the gym, continuing to get better.<\/p>\n \u201dI just stay in the gym, whether it\u2019s during practice or out of practice. In the mornings, I work out with the coaches. I know we have a break coming up, but I\u2019m probably gonna be in the gym,\u201d Jones-Brown said following the UCLA game. \u201cI just stay in the gym so I can work on my game. I know my team is depending on me, so I know I have to stay in the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily<\/p>\n We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n Against UCLA, Jones-Brown was once again Long Beach State\u2019s leading scorer. She finished with ten points, three rebounds, one assist and two steals in 34 minutes<\/a>. However, she didn\u2019t shoot particularly well, going 4-of-18 from the field and 0-of-3 from 3-point range.<\/p>\n But as far as the overall process, Wright liked what she saw from her star. In fact, there are times when she\u2019s wanted Jones-Brown to assert herself even more on the offensive end.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s such an unselfish teammate that sometimes, you want her to shoot a little bit more. Towards the end, I was trying to get her going, just to get a couple more shots up and feel good going into Monday\u2019s game,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBut she\u2019s done a great job embracing it. She does the unrequired work. She\u2019s kind of everything you want in a player.\u201d<\/p>\n And against UCLA, Jones-Brown certainly embraced the challenge in front of her. There were a few possessions where she found herself among the towering frontline that the Bruins trot out on a nightly basis. With 6\u20197 Lauren Betts<\/a>, 6\u20194 Angela Dugalic<\/a> and 6\u20194 Sienna Betts as the current frontcourt rotation, UCLA creates a matchup nightmare for most teams.<\/p>\n But in typical Jones-Brown fashion, she was unfazed by the competition she faced. Half of her made shots came in the paint, and both of them early as she tried to help set the tone for her team. No matter who is in front of her, the 5\u20196 guard always brings her competitive fire.<\/p>\n Want even more women\u2019s sports in your inbox?<\/p>\n