Mohegan — Numerous Connecticut Sun players and staffers were sporting new t-shirts Thursday featuring a glammed-up Brionna Jones.

The shirts are part of the team's campaign to get Jones the WNBA's Most Improved Player Award this season. The word "COVERGIRL" is above her face along with "EASY BREEZY BUCKETS" in small print to the right of her, an homage to Covergirl's famous ad campaign as well as Jones' nickname.

Connecticut's Covergirl (and center) was willing to due the dirty work inside when her team was struggling against the very defensive and very physical Los Angeles Sparks. She scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half and finished with six rebounds to help the Sun battle back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit and win, 76-72, extending their season-high winning streak to seven before 3,702 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

"The last two games, I've kind of been less aggressive than before the (Olympic) break," Jones said. "Today was about being aggressive and doing what I need to get open in the paint and attack them. And then my teammates did a good job of finding me when I was open. It was just all that."

The Sun (19-6) are in first place in the overall standings with seven games left. They have a one-game lead over the Las Vegas Aces (18-7) and 1.5-game lead over the defending champion Seattle Storm (18-8). They swept their three-game series from Las Vegas.

The top two teams in the overall standings earn a double-bye to the best-of-five WNBA semifinals. The third and fourth seeds receive a bye to the single-elimination second round. The first round involving the fifth-throught-eighth seeds is also single elimination.

Jonquel Jones played through foul trouble (she was called for five) and had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Connecticut. Jasmine Thomas added 13 points, six assists and four steals and DeWanna Bonner had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Sun guard Briann January played the entire game.

Reserve Nia Coffey scored 18 for Los Angeles (10-15) and Erica Wheeler had 13 points and nine assists.

The Sparks' physicality and defense (and the officiating) annoyed Connecticut. They used it to turn an early 12-point deficit in the second quarter into a 39-36 halftime lead.

Los Angeles shot an absurd 71.4 percent during that quarter (10 of 14) and outscored Connecticut, 29-16.

The Sun's offense, meanwhile, faceplanted. They shot 20 percent (3 of 15) in the second quarter.

It's notable that the Sparks' physicality bothered Connecticut so much given the Sun beat the always bruising Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night, 76-62, to clinch a playoff berth.

"They're definitely more physical," Jonquel Jones said about Los Angeles. "Sometimes it's like a tradeoff between just playing through and kind of getting the refs to understand that some of the things that they're doing isn't necessary legal."

Jones laughed and continued, "I think the next time we play (Saturday) we will be more prepared and be more focused on what we have to do to get the win versus worrying about what the refs are calling or not calling."

Brionna Jones got to work with the Sun trailing 50-41 with under six minutes in the third quarter. She made consecutive layups, the second on a nice drive and kick by Bonner.

Jones followed with an offensive rebound to put Connecticut ahead for good, 56-55, with 1:10 left in the third. She scored 10 that quarter.

"The physicality, I kind of like it," Brionna Jones chuckled. "That gave me a little boost knowing (Los Angeles) were going to hit me on the way up."

Jonquel Jones returned and ended the quarter with a putback at the buzzer to extend the Sun’s lead to 59-55.

Bonner opened the fourth by driving right to left inside and firing to an open Thomas behind the arc for a three.

Jonquel Jones was called for an offensive foul, her fifth, and went to the bench with 8:23 left in the game.

The Sun maintained the lead thanks to Brionna Jones inside. She turned a Bonner pass into a layup and, moments later, grabbed a loose ball and drove for another layup to give Connecticut a 67-60 lead with 5:31 remaining.

Los Angeles made the Sun sweat until the very end. It trailed by eight with 1:15 left in the game.

Kristi Toliver's 3-pointer, an offensive foul on Bonner, and a layup by Wheeler cut Connecticut's lead to 74-72 with 29.3 seconds left.

Jonquel Jones turned a pass from Thomas into a cutting layup for the game's final points with 18 seconds remaining.

Wheeler missed a reverse layup on the other end, Jones grabbed the rebound and the Sun ran out the clock.

“(A) physical game tonight,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. “We talked and prepared as much as possible on just how good they are defensively and how physical they are.

“Until you feel it and experience it, it’s hard to simulate. It’s hard to simulate just showing film. I thought we were the tougher team down the stretch after they were really physical for the majority of the game against us. We finally settled in.”

Thomas honored

Thomas earned the June WNBA Cares Community Assist Award for the month of June “for her ongoing efforts and dedication to positively impacting the lives of youth and focusing on serving and shining a light on health disparities in underserved Black and Brown communities.”

“I’m passionate about giving back and being involved in the community,” said Thomas. “The most important part of the legacy I want to leave as a professional athlete is that I used my platform and resources to make other people’s lives better.”

Thomas worked with Sharing Shoes to collect new and gently-worn basketball shoes for under-served young athletes and provide them a chance to play basketball. Boxes were set at Sun games to collect shoes and her teammates and fellow players pledged donations.

The WNBA and State Farm will donate $5,000 to benefit Sharing Shoes in recognition of her efforts.

Thomas has also worked closely with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Sharon, her mother, is a breast cancer survivor.

n.griffen@theday.com

Sun Sparks gallery

For more photos from the Sun Sparks WNBA game

click here.