The WNBA is a quarter of the way into their season, and JJ Quinerly is adapting to life in “The W”. She was drafted in the third round (27th overall pick) by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 draft and has started to gain some traction with her new team. She led the Mountaineers to the second round of the NCAA tournament, losing to the North Carolina Tar Heels. Read more: WVU Alumni Spotlight: JJ Quinerly.
She finished her Mountaineer career ranking second in the school’s history in points (2016), steals (328), and field goals (746). She also finished first in the offensive box plus/minus (6.3) and win share (20.8). It is no surprise that she was one of three 2025 third-round picks to make a WNBA roster, and she could see more action due to injury.
WVU Alumni Spotlight: JJ Quinerly
The Dallas Wings are off to a rough start to the 2025 season, but it is no surprise as they held the first overall pick in the 2025 draft. They finished 9-31 last season and are 3-12 so far in 2025. This helped them land Paige Bueckers with the first pick, but they also selected JJ Quinerly with the 27th overall pick. Quinerly was a household name in Morgantown for four seasons and led the Mountaineers to new heights with her scoring and tenacious defense. She is now attempting to make a name for herself in the WNBA, and she has shown promise thus far.
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Quinerly has only played in 13 games this season, averaging 6.8 minutes per game. She averages 3.4 points, 1.1 assists, and 0.4 steals per game, but the underlying stats are promising for the rookie. She does not qualify for the league rankings due to a lack of statistics, but she is shooting 42.5% from the field and 37.5% from three. Those numbers are just below league average and should improve as she gets more minutes and gets acclimated to the professional game.
Underlying Statistics
The underlying stats prove that she is worth a roster spot. She has a steal percentage of 2.9%. For reference, Bueckers ranks second in the league with 2.0 steals per game and has a steal percentage of 2.8%. Quinerly’s defense earned her a spot on the roster, which is not a surprise to the Mountaineer faithful. Quinerly also has a true shooting efficiency of .506, which is slightly below Bueckers (.553).
The area she must improve is taking care of the basketball. She is an undersized guard, which likely means she will run a lot of the offense and dominate the ball. She has a turnover percentage of 18.7%, which is not terrible but not great. Bueckers has a turnover percentage of 13.4%, while Caitlin Clark’s turnover percentage is 23.7%.
Room for Playing Time
The Wings are a young team and currently have the second-worst record. They will be looking for new players to provide a spark off the bench, which could mean more minutes for Quinerly. Guards Tyasha Harris suffered a season-ending knee injury, and DiJonai Carrington is day-to-day with a rib injury.
JJ Quinerly saw 10 minutes of action in the Wings last game, which went to overtime. She scored eight points and recorded two rebounds, with one turnover. She shot 50% from the field and made both of her free throws. Her season-high of points this year is 14 in a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on June 6. She will continue to see more playing time as the season progresses and could benefit from the unfortunate injuries to the Wings’ guards.
