Paige Bueckers’ Replacement Turned Heads on Saturday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Paige Bueckers missed her fifth game of the season for the Dallas Wings on Saturday after being ruled out against the Washington Mystics with a knee injury.
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Stepping in to replace Bueckers in the starting five was fellow rookie JJ Quinerly, who got her first career start after averaging just 7.2 minutes off the bench in 14 appearances this season.
Quinerly made sure to take full advantage of her big opportunity on Saturday by going off for a career-high 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, to go along with four rebounds, four assists and one triple in 33 minutes of action.
Quinerly’s eye-opening outing drew the attention of the WNBA, which named the former West Virginia star as the game’s Top Performer.
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The WNBA’s announcement on Quinerly turned heads on Instagram as the fans shared their reaction to the rookie’s big game.
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“🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾” a comment on Instagram read.
“JJ Quinerly showed up and showed out — what a debut start! 🌟🏀” an X user commented.
“She’s been this good. 6th Player of the Year in the future,” declared another.
Dallas Wings guard JJ Quinerly (11) stepped up for her team after starter guard Paige Bueckers is sidelined with a knee injury.© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“YESS JJ!!! 🔥” a Wings fan reacted to Dallas also naming Quinerly as the Player of the Game.
“she cooked tn🙌” another said.
“lil dynamite! 🔥” a reaction read.
Quinerly, Dallas’ third-round pick from the 2025 WNBA Draft, made waves with her performance on Saturday night. Her move to the starting five won’t be a permanent one, especially with Bueckers looking to return for the Wings’ matchup against the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday.
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Nevertheless, Quinerly was certainly able to turn a few heads with her strong outing against the Mystics, which could just lead to a more prominent role in the rotation moving forward.
Related: Dallas Wings Coach Issues Statement on Paige Bueckers’ Injury After Big Game Against Fever
Related: Dallas Wings’ First Win Without Paige Bueckers Draws the WNBA’s Attention
Related: Former Fever Player Reveals Striking Similarity Between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
