JJ

Quinerly

Geiselsoder finished the third quarter of Wednesday’s game but was replaced by Aziaha James to begin the fourth quarter before later being ruled out. Her injury is just the latest in what has been a rough past few weeks for the Wings, who were already playing on Wednesday without Paige Bueckers (illness), Arike Ogunbowale (knee), JJ Quinerly (knee) and Li Yueru Knee). With Dallas’ season coming to an end soon, it’ll be interesting to see what the injury diagnosis is and how long it potentially keeps Geiselsoder on the sideline, if at all.

Quinerly injured her left knee during Wednesday’s loss to the Sparks and did not play against Seattle on Friday. According to Grant Afseth, the rookie has been diagnosed with a sprained left ACL and will not play again this season. Quinerly is the second Wings player to be ruled out for the rest of the season with this specific injury, joining Li Yueru. Quinerly played in 34 games, starting 13, and finished with averages of 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.9 steals in 15.9 minutes.

Quinerly left the Wings most recent game on Wednesday night against the Sparks in the fourth quarter. She came up hobbling after guarding Kelsey Plum on a drive to the basket and couldn’t put much weight on her left leg. With Quinerly unavailable, the Wings will have to play fellow rookie guard Aziaha James and rely more upon third year guard Grace Berger.

While defending a Kelsey Plum drive with 9:09 left in the fourth quarter, rookie guard Quinerly came up hobbling and had trouble putting any weight on her left leg. Quinerly was carried back to the Wings locker room and didn’t return to the floor. As a result, Aziaha James and Grace Berger earned more minutes and closed the game for the Wings.

Quinerly came off the bench and nearly tallied a double-double. She was part of a fantastic reserve unit on Friday that scored 39 points and saw three players record team-highs in plus-minus. She was important down the stretch, scoring eight points and dishing three assists in the final quarter as Dallas fell just short of a comeback win. Whether she’s starting or coming off the bench going forward, Quinerly should play enough minutes to make an impact each game.

After Ogunbowale was deemed questionable on Monday, she didn’t participate during the open portion of shoot around for media members. Ogunbowale was spotted on a stationary bike while the team prepared on the court. With Ogunbowale out on Tuesday night, the Wings could go small and add either rookie guards Aziaha James or JJ Quinerly in Ogunbowale’s place. If the Wings go a bit bigger, expect forward Maddy Siegrist to join the starting lineup.

Bueckers has not spent much time at point guard, but Tuesday may be a sign that she’ll get more reps as the primary playmaker moving forward. The rookie spent a significant amount of time on the ball, especially with Wings coach Chris Koclanes replacing JJ Quinerly (two points in five minutes) with Grace Berger (two points, one rebound, four assists and one steal in 20 minutes) to begin the third quarter. Bueckers is already off the board in fantasy leagues, and with good reason. However, there’s some concern as Bueckers said after Tuesday’s game that she may have pulled a muscle in her back. Injury may be all that slows down the Wings guard, especially with the team headed back to the draft lottery.

Quinerly flirted with a double-double on Tuesday in her seventh start of the season. Although her numbers weren’t flashy, she did manage to secure her seventh straight game of at least four assists, while setting a new career-high in rebounds. Quinerly continues to bring value to the team and is being rewarded with more minutes and a secured starting role. She’s only rostered in 10.7 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues, for those fantasy managers looking to add a guard to their roster.

Quinerly, once again, recorded a strong performance for the Wings despite the loss. In 30 minutes, the rookie guard stuffed the stat sheet by scoring in double figures and securing at least four assists for the sixth straight game, while setting a new career-high in steals. Quinerly’s recent stretch of games has signaled that not only is she a likely starter for the remainder of the season, but it may also indicate that she is a potentially key piece to the organization, alongside fellow rookie Paige Bueckers, going forward. She’ll have a chance to remain productive after the All-Star Break while finishing her rookie season strongly.

Quinerly, once again, was one of Dallas’ most productive scorers on Wednesday. A lack of shooting efficiency prevented a higher scoring total, but she still finished as the team’s third-highest scorer while leading the way in assists. The rookie guard has now scored in double figures in four straight games and earned at least five assists in three straight. The Wings are dealing with injuries to Arike Ogunbowale (thumb) and DiJonai Carrington (rib), but given how Quinerly is playing of late, it would seem difficult to cut a significant amount of her minutes once the team is healthy.