Superstar Stewie delivers for Maley on Sunday

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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: 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: Atlanta Dream 92 def. Washington Mystics 77 (Final)

Australian guard Isobel Borlase, 22, and the fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream beat fellow Australian Georgia Amoore and the fifth-seeded Washington Mystics 92-77 in Game 1 of their first-round series at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Monday (AEST), the third of the morning's Game 1s with Australians involved.

Washington led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter and 41-36 at half-time, but Allisha Gray's 24-foot step-back three with 8:28 left in the third put Atlanta in front, and DeWanna Bonner's free throws at 6:14 broke a 45-45 tie and put the Dream ahead for good. Bonner scored 11 of her 13 points off the bench in that quarter, which Atlanta won 29-12, and the Dream led by as many as 17 early in the fourth. Washington committed 23 turnovers, and Atlanta scored 27 points off those turnovers to the Mystics' four.

Amoore started at point guard and played 24 minutes for eight points, four rebounds and three assists. She put Washington in front for the first time with a 26-foot three from a Sonia Citron assist at 8:19 of the first quarter, hit a 24-foot three late in the quarter to make it 24-17, and finished a driving layup to make it 41-34 late in the second. She shot 3-from-8 from the field and 2-from-4 from three, set up two Kiki Iriafen layups and a Citron layup, and had four turnovers. She did not return after checking out with 9:09 left in the fourth and Washington down 67-53. Amoore started all 44 of Washington's regular-season games.

Borlase came off the bench for two stints of a little over three minutes each, late in the first quarter and across the end of the third and start of the fourth, and was plus-5 in her six minutes. The Opals guard missed her only shot, a driving floater, and had one foul. She played all 44 of Atlanta's regular-season games, starting one.

Howard led Atlanta with 26 points on 10-from-10 free-throw shooting, with five steals, and was plus-19 in 39 minutes. Gray added 22 points, Angel Reese had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Jordin Canada had 10 points and 11 assists, as Atlanta made 25 of its 26 free throws.

Citron led Washington with 25 points on 8-from-15 shooting, Iriafen had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Shakira Austin had 12 points and 16 rebounds, as the Mystics out-rebounded Atlanta 50-31. Washington had won two of the three regular-season meetings.

• Georgia Amoore (WSH): 24 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 4 TO, 0 BLK, 3-8 FG, 2-4 3PT, 0-0 FT, -7
• Isobel Borlase (ATL): 6 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 0 BLK, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, +5

Atlanta leads the best-of-three first-round series 1-0. Atlanta finished the regular season 30-14, and Washington finished 28-16.

Game 2 is in Washington at 9:00am AEST on Thursday, October 1 (7:00pm EDT Wednesday, September 30). If a Game 3 is needed, it returns to Atlanta on Friday, October 2 US time, with the tip-off time, and so the Australian date, yet to be confirmed.

WNBA Scores: (2) Golden State Valkyries v (7) Dallas Wings – In Progress

• Alanna Smith – Dallas Wings
• Miela Sowah – Golden State Valkyries