28
Sep
Aussies in the WNBA
Superstar Stewie delivers for Maley on Sunday
New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart celebrates with Australian teammate Anneli Maley after their 91–75 win against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA playoffs at Target Center on September 28, 2026 (AEST). Picture: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Highlights
Eighth seed Liberty won the second half 51-31 in Minneapolis to steal Game 1 on the road
- What the Portland Fire told rising star Nyadiew Puoch to do
- One text and Jade Melbourne felt she could drop 50
- Rebecca Allen's Last Dance alongside 'rare' superstar
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: Las Vegas Aces 102 def. Indiana Fever 85 (Final)
Australian forward Stephanie Talbot, 32, started for the third-seeded Las Vegas Aces in a 102-85 win against the sixth-seeded Indiana Fever in Game 1 of their first-round series at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Monday (AEST).
Indiana led by two points in the first quarter and again at 34-33 when Aliyah Boston banked in a 26-foot three with 7:47 left in the second, but Chelsea Gray made three free throws 15 seconds later and Las Vegas never trailed again. The Aces scored 35 points in the second quarter to lead 62-47 at half-time, and stretched the margin to 27 points at 85-58 late in the third.
Talbot played 28 minutes for eight points, two rebounds, three assists and a block. She blocked Caitlin Clark's driving layup two minutes in, hit a 23-foot three from a Jackie Young assist to make it 12-7, and in the fourth quarter set up two A'ja Wilson layups before making both free throws with 4:42 left. The Opals forward shot 2-from-8 from the field and 3-from-4 from the line, and was plus-5 in her minutes. She started 43 of Las Vegas' 44 regular-season games.
Wilson finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks on 15-from-19 shooting and was plus-29, while Young added 21 points and 10 assists, Gray had 14 points and eight assists and Jewell Loyd scored 10 off the bench, as Las Vegas shot 38-from-64 from the field.
Boston led Indiana with 18 points and eight rebounds, Clark had 15 points and 10 assists on 6-from-17 shooting with six turnovers, and Raven Johnson scored 14 off the bench on 6-from-7 shooting. Indiana had won two of the three regular-season meetings, and it is the only one of the eight playoff teams without an Australian on its roster.
- Stephanie Talbot (LV): 28 MIN, 8 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 1 BLK, 2-8 FG, 1-2 3PT, 3-4 FT, +5
Las Vegas leads the best-of-three first-round series 1-0. Las Vegas finished the regular season 31-13, and Indiana finished 28-16.
Game 2 is in Indianapolis at 8:30am AEST on Wednesday, September 30 (6:30pm EDT Tuesday, September 29). If a Game 3 is needed, it returns to Las Vegas on Thursday, October 1 US time, which is Friday, October 2 in Australia, with the tip-off time yet to be confirmed.
WNBA Scores: (4) Atlanta Dream v (5) Washington Mystics – In Progress
- 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
- Miela Sowah – Golden State Valkyries
