JJ Quinerly Cooked DC & Asked Who Wanna Race!
Paige Bueckers took the night off with as the star rookie point guard sat out for precautionary knee reasons so JJ Quinerly grabbed the aux cord, hit turbo, and lit the Washington Mystics up like she’d been waiting her whole life to do it.
Quinerly’s partner in chaos, Aziaha James, pulled up with her own heat check. Together, they turned College Park Center into a rookie-run joyride defeating the Mystics 79-71.
JJ Jump started Dallas
The Mystics got jumped like they owed a rent check in the first quarter. Down 28–9 before the dust even settled. It was JJ Quinerly’s first WNBA start, and she treated it like a track meet. The rookie guard dropped 15 points, barely missed, and ran circles around everyone like she had Mario Kart star mode on.
“I’d give myself a B-minus for the turnovers,” JJ said, “other than that it was ok.”
“OK” is generous. Especially from Quinerly because this team looked completely different with her running the show. The Dallas Wings turned a .500 team in Washington, and left them looking like a smoke show from the jump, and JJ didn’t just torch the defense—she took names.
“I know I am (the fastest person in the WNBA),” Quinerly said. “If anybody want to race, let me know… I’m kind of small so I have that advantage for sure.”
Addtionally, Bueckers took notice of the performance Quinerly had and also said a lot of glowing words about her fellow rookie teammate.
“Paige just said I had a great game and hyping me, and us up in general” said Quinerly.
Quinerly played with joy, pace, and zero fear.
“This game is so fun to me… just being out there and enjoying every moment on the court.”
We felt that. JJ didn’t ask for permission. She clocked in, raced through traffic, and gave Washington the type of night they’ll want to delete off Synergy.
Aziaha James and the Next-Woman-Up Gospel
While Quinerly was cooking up Washington, Aziaha James made sure the vibes never dipped.
Another 15-point gem, 3-of-4 from three, and stayed cool as hell doing it.
“Next woman up… this league has a lot of adversity and we fought it today and it was a good team win.”
James also gave love to her squad, who clearly believe in her more than half the WNBA Twitter comments do:
“My coaches and my sisters have confidence in me and told me to stay positive. I just listen and let it go.”
Aziaha didn’t force it. She just let it rip. A pull-up here. A dagger three there. All business.
The Mystics Were in a Blender, and the Schedule Didn’t Help
Five games in nine days.
That’s the kind of schedule that breaks your body and your spirit. Washington looked gassed, especially in the first quarter, when Dallas hit them with an 11-for-18 flamethrower and never really let them breathe.
Still, rookie Sonia Citron showed up like a vet—22 points, 10 boards, and another “I got this” performance from the rookie.
“They’re a great offensive rebounding team… Every game I go with the same mentality, play hard, be a good teammate.”
When asked about the pace of the season, Citron didn’t hide her surprise:
“It’s difficult. I don’t think I realized the W schedule… I definitely didn’t know we play every other day. But Dallas just played yesterday so there’s really no excuse… I just got to give it my all.”
Coach Sydney Johnson tried to keep it classy, but the frustration peeked through:
“Always respect the opponent. Dallas played hard. These ladies have poured into everything, each other and the challenges… but yes there’s a little bit of that [fatigue].”
Shakira Austin kept it simple about the defensive plan:
“Trying to force the ball out of Arike’s hands and the guards’ hands…”
Didn’t really work. Arike still finished with 14, and Myisha Hines-Allen bulldozed her way to 13 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists.
“She’s playing with an edge… defensively she’s so strong,” Koclanes said. “Her presence right now on both sides of the ball… and it’s helping us.”
Koclanes Still Tinkering, But the Rookies Are Ready
Chris Koclanes kept it honest after the win. He’s still learning on the job, still figuring out lineups, still searching for this team’s identity.
“I’m not perfect… It’s getting better from game to game and it’s going to change each game… Watch every game back of course and be the most critical of myself… just trying to control as much as I can for them.”
But one thing is clear: the rookies are ready.
“We’re still our best when everyone’s hunting” said koclanes. “It’s defensively—we want to get up and guard the ball… defense and rebounding to keep us in games… Offensively, we’re playing through P and Rike.”
Even without Paige, the Wings outscored Washington 36–5 in bench points and won the game with pure energy. That’s the identity: speed, depth, no fear.
“Our fight, our resiliency… proud that we came out and threw the first punch.”
