Dallas Wings' First Win Without Paige Bueckers Draws the WNBA's Attention

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 12:06 AM ET

The Dallas Wings improved to 5-13 on Saturday night with a 79-71 home victory over the Washington Mystics.

Rookie JJ Quinerly dropped a career-high 15 points in her first career start to help lead Dallas to a much-needed win following Friday night's disappointing loss to a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever.

Quinerly got the start against Washington after Paige Bueckers was ruled out for the game due to a knee injury. Saturday's victory against the Mystics marked the Wings' first win of the season without Bueckers in the lineup.

The former UConn star missed her fifth game of her rookie campaign on Friday. Bueckers sat out four straight contests earlier this season due to a concussion and then an illness. The Wings lost all four of those games with the No. 1 overall pick sidelined.

Dallas turned a page on Friday, though, as they proved that they are still capable of winning without their star guard. Their victory against the Mystics drew a reaction from the WNBA on social media.

"The Dallas Wings defeat the Washington Mystics 79-71 and have now won 4 out of their last 6 games! " the league posted on X.

The Dallas Wings defeat the Washington Mystics 79-71 and have now won 4 out of their last 6 games!

Rookie JJ Quinerly put up a career-high 15 PTS in her first WNBA start, while fellow rookie Aziaha James added in 15 PTS of her own in the win!#WelcometotheW | WNBA Pride… pic.twitter.com/oFwblfiJv9
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 29, 2025

The WNBA also highlighted Quinerly's strong outing in the win as the rookie turned in the best performance of her fledgling career.

Quinerly, though, will likely return to a bench role when the Wings return to action on Thursday against the Phoenix Mercury. Dallas head coach Chris Kolcanes said before Saturday's game that Bueckers' injury absence was merely "precautionary," which means that she should be on track to return in their next game.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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