Captain Sami continues to ramp up ahead of Cup

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Australian Opals captain Sami Whitcomb and Rebecca Allen finished on opposite sides of a two-point result in Phoenix, Stephanie Talbot started in Las Vegas' last-second loss, and Chloe Bibby did not dress in Chicago because she was in the midst of signing with Minnesota Lynx for the remainder of the 2026 season.

Allen's only three-point attempt of the night went down, and New York sent her back onto the floor for the final 12.7 seconds of a two-point win.

WNBA Scores: New York Liberty 94 def. Phoenix Mercury 92 (Final)

Australian guard Sami Whitcomb, 38, came off the Phoenix bench for 15 minutes and three assists as the Mercury went down 94-92 to Rebecca Allen's New York Liberty in Phoenix on Sunday (AEST).

Phoenix trailed by five with 28.2 seconds left when Kahleah Copper stripped Sabrina Ionescu, and DeWanna Bonner buried a 25-footer to cut it to 92-90. Breanna Stewart made both free throws with 12.7 on the clock, and Alyssa Thomas' floater with 4.2 remaining was as close as the Mercury got.

Whitcomb went 1-from-4 from the field and 1-from-3 from downtown, and made her only free throw. The Opals captain has been back for a matter of weeks after knee surgery.

Allen started, played 21 minutes and went 2-from-5, her only attempt from deep going down. New York put her back on for the last 12.7 seconds with a four-point lead to defend.

Ionescu ran the game for New York with 27 points and 10 assists, and Jonquel Jones added 16 points and nine rebounds.

The 17 points that mattered most to Australian readers came from someone who is not Australian. Han Xu, 26, who signed with the Geelong Venom for WNBL27, scored 17 off the New York bench on 6-from-9 shooting with three triples and six rebounds in 22 minutes. That is more than Whitcomb, Allen and Talbot managed between them all day.

Copper and Bonner scored 25 each for Phoenix and Thomas had 17 points and seven assists.

Fellow Australian Anneli Maley, 27, a New York development player, did not appear.

• Sami Whitcomb (Phoenix Mercury): 15 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 1 TO, 0 BLK, 1-4 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-1 FT, -11
• Rebecca Allen (New York Liberty): 21 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 0 BLK, 2-5 FG, 1-1 3PT, 0-0 FT, -2

New York improved to 17-13, while Phoenix dropped to 11-19.

WNBA Scores: Chicago Sky 84 def. Las Vegas Aces 83 (Final)

Australian forward Stephanie Talbot, 32, started for Las Vegas and played seven minutes as the Aces lost 84-83 in Chicago on Sunday (AEST) to a Sydney Taylor three-pointer with 0.9 seconds on the clock.

A'ja Wilson had put Las Vegas ahead with a driving layup at 3.2 seconds. Chicago took a timeout, advanced the ball, and Taylor curled off a screen at the top of the key onto a Natasha Cloud inbounds pass and shot it. It ended a seven-game Chicago losing streak against the defending champions.

Talbot took two shots and made one, adding two rebounds and a block. She finished minus-1 in a one-point defeat, the best plus-minus of any Australian on the slate.

Taylor finished with 29 points on 11-from-27, Cloud had 11 points and four assists, and DiJonai Carrington 10. The Sky had been 0-6 in overtime and one-score games, and were down 10 with seven and a half minutes to play.

Wilson was enormous in defeat with 36 points and 12 rebounds. Jackie Young had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and NaLyssa Smith 17.

Chloe Bibby, 28, did not dress for Chicago, hours after it was reported that she was set to join the Minnesota Lynx on a standard contract because the Sky could not fit her under the salary cap.

Stephanie Talbot (Las Vegas Aces): 7 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 1 BLK, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, -1

Chicago improved to 11-18, while Las Vegas dropped to 20-9.