Paige Bueckers’ Message for Dallas Wings Teammate Amid Injury Absence originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Paige Bueckers was out of commission for the Dallas Wings on Saturday night due to a knee injury. It did not seem like a serious issue for the former UConn star, though, and Wings coach Chris Koclanes said before the game that it was a “precautionary” decision to have Bueckers sit out the second night of a back-to-back set.
Stepping in for Bueckers in their game against the Washington Mystics was fellow rookie JJ Quinerly, who turned in a career performance in her first WNBA game. The 5-foot-8 guard went off for a career-high 15 points, to go along with four rebounds and four assists to help lead Dallas to a 79-71 win against Washington.
After the game, Quinerly revealed that Bueckers congratulated her after her eye-opening performance.
“She just said I had a good game,” Quinerly said, via Joey Mistretta of ClutchPoints. “They always hyping me up, or hyping us up in general. So it was all good vibes all around.”
Quinerly’s performance on Saturday may lead to a bigger role in the rotation for the former West Virginia star. It is also worth noting that Dallas lost backup guard Tyasha Harris earlier this month after the 27-year-old guard underwent season-ending surgery to address a knee injury.
Quinerly will likely resume a bench role once Bueckers returns to the lineup, which could come as soon as Thursday’s game against the Phoenix Mercury. However, it’s very much possible that Quinerly has earned herself more minutes — she entered Saturday’s game averaging just 7.2 minutes per game — after Saturday’s big-time performance.
Related: Dallas Wings’ First Win Without Paige Bueckers Draws the WNBA’s Attention
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.