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Australian forward Anneli Maley, the WNBL's leading rebounder in 2025-26, played her first WNBA playoff minutes because New York Liberty superstar teammate Breanna Stewart is good – very good – at basketball.

WNBA Scores: New York Liberty 91 def. Minnesota Lynx 75 (Final)

Australian veteran Rebecca Allen, 33, and the eighth-seeded New York Liberty opened the 2026 WNBA playoffs with a professional 91-75 win against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx at Target Center in Minneapolis on Monday (AEST)

Minnesota led 44-40 at half-time, but Stewart's free throws with 8:44 left in the third quarter put New York in front for good and the Liberty won the second half 51-31. Stewart finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds, going 11-from-18 from the field and 10-from-12 from the free-throw line, while Leonie Fiebich added 16 points on 6-from-7 shooting, including 4-from-5 from three, as New York hit 13 of its 25 attempts from deep.

Nia Brodie led Minnesota with 16 points off the bench on 6-from-7 shooting, Kayla McBride added 14 and Napheesa Collier had 12, but the Lynx shot 28-from-67 from the field and 9-from-26 from three.

Allen came off the bench midway through the second quarter for a stint of a little over three minutes, missing her only shot, a 25-foot three, and returned for the final 2:29 with the result settled. The Opals veteran announced in early August that she will retire from all basketball at the end of this season, so New York's playoff run is also the last stretch of her career.

Fellow Australian Anneli Maley, 28, checked in alongside Allen for the final 2:29 and pulled down a defensive rebound with 30 seconds left.

On the other bench, Opals forward Chloe Bibby, 28, entered with 2:29 left and Minnesota down 87-68, and scored the Lynx's last five points with a 16-foot step-back jumper and a 24-foot three from an Aari McDonald assist.

• Rebecca Allen (NYL): 6 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 0 BLK, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-0 FT, -5
• Anneli Maley (NYL): 2 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 0 BLK, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, -1
• Chloe Bibby (MIN): 2 MIN, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 0 BLK, 2-4 FG, 1-3 3PT, 0-0 FT, +1

New York leads the best-of-three first-round series 1-0. Minnesota finished the regular season 33-11, the best record in the league, and New York finished 26-18.

Game 2 is in New York at 10:30am AEST on Wednesday, September 30 (8:30pm EDT Tuesday, September 29). If a Game 3 is needed, it returns to Minneapolis on Thursday, October 1 US time, which is Friday, October 2 in Australia, with the tip-off time yet to be confirmed.

WNBA Scores: (3) Las Vegas Aces v (6) Indiana Fever – In Progress

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WNBA Scores: (4) Atlanta Dream v (5) Washington Mystics – Tip off at 9am (AEST)

• Isobel Borlase – Atlanta Dream
• Georgia Amoore – Washington Mystics

WNBA Scores: (2) Golden State Valkyries v (7) Dallas Wings – Tip off at 11am (AEST)

• Alanna Smith – Dallas Wings
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