Blanca Quiñonez

Blanca Francheska Quiñónez Mina (born August 3, 2006) is an Ecuadorian college basketball player for the UConn Huskies. She previously played for Magnolia Campobasso in Italy, making her professional debut at age 14.

Early life Blanca Francheska Quiñónez Mina was born on August 3, 2006, in Milagro, Ecuador. She began playing basketball at age five after attending a local summer camp alongside her twin brother and older brother. She started out playing in the Liga Deportiva Cantonal de Milagro. Quiñónez quickly developed into one of the most skilled players in Guayas Province.

Early professional career Quiñónez officially signed with Magnolia Campobasso in January 2020 at the age of 13, initially joining their youth developmental team, Cestistica Campobasso. A few days after her 14th birthday, she was promoted to the senior team in the Lega Basket Femminile (LBF) for the . Quiñónez made her professional debut on December 6, 2020, recording four points and six rebounds in a 49–70 home loss to . She became the youngest foreign player in LBF history at 14 years, four months, and three days old. She made her EuroCup debut at the age of 15 on September 25, 2021, posting 17 points and four rebounds in a 65–64 qualification round victory over Spanish club Ensino Lugo. That season, Quiñónez averaged 7.1 points per game and won the Lega Basket Femminile (LBF) Best Young Player award while playing small forward, receiving the news while she was at school. In , she averaged 10.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game, helping Magnolia Campobasso advance to the LBF semifinals for the first time. Quiñónez re-signed with the club ahead of her fifth pro season. In her final season in Italy in 2024–25, she averaged 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game, leading her team to a third-place finish in the regular season and a semifinal appearance in the playoffs. The team also reached the semifinal and the EuroCup round of 32. Additionally, she helped the club win the Italian under-17 championship in 2023, scoring 29 points in the final and earning tournament MVP honors. The following year, she helped them win the Italian under-19 championship and again won tournament MVP after scoring 22 points in the final. Quiñónez earned invites to participate in the 2022 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta and the 2024 Basketball Without Borders Global girls camp in Phoenix, Arizona, with the latter event marking her first time visiting the U.S.

College career Quiñónez opened her college recruitment in April 2024 after watching that year's Final Four and the overall growth of women's college basketball in the United States. According to CT Insider, "the floodgates immediately burst open" with interest from many of the top NCAA Division I programs in the country.

Quiñónez missed the first two games of her freshman season due to injury, after which she made her collegiate debut on November 12, 2025, recording five points, three assists, and two steals in an 85–31 blowout win over Loyola–Chicago. She then tallied 18 points, four rebounds, and two steals against Ohio State in her second game, and was subsequently named the Big East Freshman of the Week. A week later, Quiñónez scored 21 points on eight-of-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in a 93–41 win over Utah, and repeated as the Big East Freshman of the Week. In mid-December, she won the award for a third time after posting 12 points, four rebounds, and four steals in 79–51 win over AP No. 16 USC. Quiñónez won it again the following week after she put up 12 points and four rebounds against Marquette, followed by 10 points, five assists, five steals, and four rebounds versus No. 11 Iowa, with the Huskies routing both opponents. On December 29, she was named the Big East Freshman of the Week for the third straight week, and the fifth time overall, after tallying 12 points, three rebounds, and three steals in a 94–47 win over Butler. Quiñónez nabbed the award again two weeks later after averaging 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game in blowout wins over St. John's and Creighton.

National team career Quiñónez won a silver medal with the Ecuador national under-15 team at the 2018 FIBA U15 South American Championship, averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Quiñónez debuted for the Ecuador senior national team at the 2022 FIBA South American Championship, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Quiñónez speaks Spanish, English, Italian, as well as the Molisan dialect.

Quiñónez was signed as a brand ambassador for sports apparel company Airdom in 2024.