| Intro | American basketball player, guard | ||||
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Athlete Basketball player |
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| From | United States of America | ||||
| Type | Sports | ||||
| Gender | female | ||||
| Birth | 21 June 1973, Montgomery, USA | ||||
| Age: | 47 years | ||||
| Star sign | Cancer | ||||
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| Education |
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Merlakia Jones (born June 21, 1974) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) for eight seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida, and then played professionally for the Cleveland Rockers and Detroit Shock of the WNBA.
Early years
Jones was born to George and Jacqueline Jones in Montgomery, Alabama. She attended George Washington Carver in Montgomery, and was a standout high school basketball player for the G.W. Carver Wolverines.
College career
Jones accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for coach Carol Ross’s Florida Gators women’s basketball team from 1991 to 1995.
Florida statistics
Source
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | Florida | 28 | 420 | 54.1% | 0.0% | 77.1% | 5.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 15.0 |
| 1992-93 | Florida | 29 | 438 | 47.2% | 25.0% | 66.2% | 7.0 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 15.1 |
| 1993-94 | Florida | 28 | 520 | 51.4% | 25.0% | 68.0% | 10.1 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 18.6 |
| 1994-95 | Florida | 33 | 623 | 43.6% | 24.8% | 69.2% | 6.3 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 18.9 |
| TOTALS | Florida | 118 | 2001 | 48.3% | 24.8% | 70.1% | 7.0 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 17.0 |
USA Basketball
Jones represented the US at the 1995 World University Games held in Fukuoka, Japan in August and September 1995. The team had a record of 5–1, securing the silver medal. The USA teams won early and reached a record of 5–0 when the USA beat Yugoslavia. In the semi-final game, the USA faced Russia. The team was behind much of the first half but managed to tie the game at the half. The USA broke the game open in the second half and won 101–74, with Frett contributing a double-double, 20 points and 13 rebounds. The gold medal match was against unbeaten Italy. The Italian team started strong, scoring 12 of the first 14 points of the contest. The USA took a small lead in the second half, but the team from Italy responded with a ten-point run, and won the game and the gold medal by a score of 73–65. Jones averaged 2.3 points per game.
Professional career
The Cleveland Rockers selected Jones in the second round (thirteenth pick overall) of the 1997 WNBA Draft, and she played for the Rockers from 1997 to 2003. She played her WNBA final season Detroit Shock in 2004.