Opals star sparkles in Dream return after World Cup

• Nyadiew Puoch started for Portland and had 11 points and eight rebounds
• Anneli Maley did not play for New York, a coach's decision
• Sami Whitcomb started for Phoenix but shot 1-from-7 in 25 minutes

Australian Opals star Isobel Borlase picked the right week for the best game of her season.

The Atlanta Dream guard came off the bench and scored 18 points in 19 minutes in a 106-81 win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday, September 19, shooting 6-from-8 from the field and 3-from-3 from three. It was her highest-scoring game of the 2026 regular season. Her next best was 17, back in June.

Borlase, 22, erupted for 30 points in as Opals survived Italy at the FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin earlier this month.

Her season has been a slow build rather than a breakout. She averaged 2.3 points across seven games in May, 5.8 in June, 5.8 in July, then 3.9 across twelve games in August. September is comfortably her best month at 10.5. Eighteen points on 6-from-8 is not a form line on its own, but it is the first time this year she has looked like a rotation scorer.

Atlanta are fourth at 28-14 and finish the season with two games at the New York Liberty, on Tuesday and Thursday. That is Borlase's club playing Anneli Maley and Bec Allen's club twice in three days, with seeding between fourth and seventh still open.

Nyadiew Puoch had the best of it on the first night. She started for the Portland Fire and finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes of an 82-66 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Friday, September 18, shooting 4-from-11. Portland sit 16-26 and were eliminated well before this.

Miela Sowah played four minutes for Golden State in that game without scoring, and did not play at all the following night. Her club is second at 31-11 and has won six straight.

The New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 93-81, and Bec Allen had two points in 17 minutes off the bench.

New York beat the Minnesota Lynx 93-81 on the Friday, and Bec Allen had two points in 17 minutes off the bench.

The Australian story of that game was who did not play. Anneli Maley was a coach's decision, a fortnight after New York converted her from a development contract to a standard one. A development player is capped at twelve activations, Maley had used seven, and the club moved her onto a standard deal with the playoffs in view. The first look at what that deal buys her was a night on the bench.

New York are 25-16 and level with the Washington Mystics, with three games left: at the Toronto Tempo on Sunday, then the two against Atlanta.

Chloe Bibby, now with Minnesota, was also a coach's decision. Her club leads the league at 31-10 but has lost three in a row.

The Indiana Fever beat Toronto 103-85 with no Australians involved. Teonni Key played 20 minutes for Toronto, and while she is not Australian she will be familiar here soon enough, having signed with the Perth Lynx for WNBL27.

On the Saturday, the Dallas Wings beat the Phoenix Mercury 87-82. Sami Whitcomb started for Phoenix and had four points and four assists in 25 minutes on 1-from-7 shooting, 1-from-5 from three. Phoenix are 15-27 and eliminated. Dallas are sixth at 26-16.

Alanna Smith is a Dallas player and did not appear in that box score, carrying a calf injury from the World Cup.

Golden State closed the window by beating the Seattle Storm 70-57. Jade Melbourne started for Seattle and had three points, two rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes. Seattle are 8-34 and last in the league, and Ezi Magbegor tore her ACL and is out for the season.

Steph Talbot did not feature across the two nights for the simple reason that Las Vegas did not play. They are third at 28-13.

Where the Australians sit for the playoffs

The field is set. Seven Australians are at clubs that have made it, and they are spread right across the top of the ladder. Bibby at Minnesota, first. Sowah at Golden State, second. Talbot at Las Vegas, third. Borlase at Atlanta, fourth. Smith at Dallas, sixth. Maley and Allen at New York, seventh.

Four are at clubs that are out: Puoch at Portland, Whitcomb at Phoenix, and Melbourne and Magbegor at Seattle. It is not close. Ninth-placed Portland are nine and a half games behind eighth-placed Washington with three to play.

So there will be Australians in this postseason at five different clubs, including the top four seeds. Whether they are on the floor is the separate question, and these two nights gave a mixed answer. Borlase and Allen played, Melbourne and Puoch started for clubs already out, Sowah played four minutes and then none, and Maley and Bibby were coach's decisions.

The full picture is on our Aussies in the WNBA hub, and the earnings breakdown is in our 2026 WNBA salaries tracker.