4

Aug

Aussies in the WNBA

Brutal box scores blight tough nights for Opals stars

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basketball.com.au

Brutal box scores blight tough nights for Opals stars
Brutal box scores blight tough nights for Opals stars

Australian guard Jade Melbourne brings the ball up the floor for the Seattle Storm during their WNBA matchup against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on August 4, 2026 (AEST) . Photo: Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images

Six Australians played in the WNBA on Tuesday and scored just 11 points between the lot of them.

Seattle Storm and Australian Opals guard Jade Melbourne, 23, produced the best line any Australian managed in the WNBA on Tuesday (AEST), five points and four assists without a turnover, and the Storm still lost by 12.

Six Australians played. They scored 11 points between them.

Three of the six did not score at all, and one of those three had the most useful night of the lot.

Rebecca Allen, 33, went 0-from-4 for the New York Liberty and was still a plus-10 in a 95-83 win over Seattle. She pulled five rebounds, blocked two shots and had a steal in 26 minutes. The longest-serving Australian in the league had one of those games that does not survive a box score.

Melbourne was the only Australian to make a three, going 1-from-1 from the outside and 2-from-4 overall in 24 minutes. Ezi Magbegor, 26, added four points and five rebounds with a block and a steal, but was a minus-19 as Seattle fell to 6-26.

Stephanie Talbot, 32, scored two points from her only shot in eight minutes as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Atlanta Dream 109-87. Talbot added an assist and a steal and finished plus-3. Las Vegas move to 21-9.

Isobel Borlase, 21, went scoreless for Atlanta in nine minutes, missing both her shots including one from three, with a rebound and an assist. The 2026 WNBL MVP was a minus-12. The Dream drop to 18-11.

In the last game of the Australian morning, Sami Whitcomb, 38, played 15 minutes off the Phoenix bench without scoring, missing her only attempt, with a rebound and an assist. Phoenix beat the Chicago Sky 106-101 to move to 12-19.

Anneli Maley did not dress for New York.

Alanna Smith, Chloe Bibby, Georgia Amoore, Nyadiew Puoch and Miela Sowah were all idle. Dallas, Minnesota, Washington, Portland and Golden State did not play.

Wednesday is the quietest day of the Australian week. One game, one Australian. Miela Sowah and the Golden State Valkyries host the Toronto Tempo at 12:00pm AEST.

It gets busy again on Thursday, when six Australians take the floor inside 30 minutes. Borlase and Whitcomb meet when Atlanta host Phoenix at 9:00am AEST, Allen and Maley face Magbegor and Melbourne as New York host Seattle at the same time, and Amoore and Alanna Smith meet at 9:30am when Washington host Dallas.

Aussies in the WNBA

Alanna Smith (Dallas Wings) | Ally Wilson (Washington Mystics) | Anneli Maley (New York Liberty – Development Player) | Charlise Dunn (Toronto Tempo – Rights Held) | Chloe Bibby (Minnesota Lynx) | Ezi Magbegor (Seattle Storm) | Georgia Amoore (Washington Mystics) | Isobel Borlase (Atlanta Dream) | Jade Melbourne (Seattle Storm) | Manuela Puoch (New York Liberty – Rights Held) | Miela Sowah (Golden State Valkyries – Development Player) | Nyadiew Puoch (Portland Fire) | Rebecca Allen (New York Liberty) | Saffron Shiels (Toronto Tempo – Rights Held) | Sami Whitcomb (Phoenix Mercury) | Stephanie Talbot (Las Vegas Aces) | Alex Fowler (Waived – New York Liberty) | Amelia Hassett (Waived – Los Angeles Sparks) | Kristy Wallace (Waived) | Maddi Rocci (Waived – Toronto Tempo)

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