Special Delivery: Maley arrives and she's ready to go

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Reigning rebounding champion Anneli Maley is back from the WNBA and will suit up for the Perth Lynx for the first time in WNBL27 against the 0-2 Adelaide Lightning on Saturday, October 24, 2026, in Adelaide.

The 28-year-old Victorian forward's New York Liberty were knocked out of the 2026 WNBA Playoffs by Isobel Borlase's Atlanta Dream in straight sets (3-0) in the semi-finals on Friday, October 9.

"Well, I haven't even been back for 24 hours yet, but I am very happy to be home," Maley said yesterday.

"I've already been to the beach with my dog, so you know where you'll find me when I'm not at the basketball stadium."

Maley, who signed a rostered contract the same day the Australian Opals played their first game of the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup in Germany on September 4, played just two minutes in the postseason: Game 1 of the Liberty's first-round clash against the Minnesota Lynx.

"It was a really cool experience," Maley said.

"It's something that I didn't think I was going to be able to do.

I got a couple of different opportunities throughout the year, and I tried to take advantage of them.

"It was definitely a journey, an experience, something that I didn't think I was going to be able to do.

"But I tried to take every opportunity as it came, and it ended up being a really positive experience for me."

Maley earned a training camp contract with the Liberty in early May, was waived at final cuts, was picked up by the Phoenix Mercury on a one-year deal worth USD $270,000, scored a point in six minutes against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on opening night and was waived again. New York brought her back on May 23 as a development player at the expense of Townsville Fire and Australian Opals forward Alex Fowler.

The Lynx are a completely different team from the one Maley left to chase a WNBA gig after the heartbreaking WNBL26 Grand Final Series loss to the Fire.

Gone are Ally Wilson (Sydney Flames), Amy Atwell (Canberra Capitals), and Han Xu (Geelong Venom), while head coach Ryan Petrik pulled off a recruiting coup, securing Washington Mystics point guard Georgia Amoore and Toronto Tempo forward Teonie Key from Sandy Brondello.

Amoore, 25, was a near-immediate replacement for Australian Opals and WNBA superstar Sami Whitcomb, who will miss the entire WNBL27 season with a knee injury.

"It's definitely different, but sometimes change is good," the NBL1 women's single-game scoring record holder said. Maley poured in 65 points in her first and only game of 2026 NBL1.

"I trust what Ryan pieces together.

"Yes, there was a lot of turnover, but Ash has been here before. A lot of the young girls are still around. Chibba's a cornerstone of what we do here, and so is Steph Gorman.

"There's been turnover, but there's also been a lot of pieces that have stayed."

Maley also had a verdict on Perth's Grand Final rematch 71-69 win against Townsville Fire to start its season.

"Oh my God, it was really fun to watch," she said.

"The style of play, the speed, the way that the girls played together - it was a really fun brand of basketball and something that hopefully we can continue to put out as a group."