Double double-doubles: Xu and Maley lead sweep

• ‍Game 1: Townsville Fire's hot start torches Flyers to take series opener‍
• Game 1: MVP runner up Maley dominates Borlase's Bendigo‍
• War of words erupts as WNBL finals explode

Perth Lynx’s Chinese superstar Han Xu and MVP runner-up Anneli Maley combined for 47 points and 28 rebounds to end Bendigo’s title defence in an 81-85 Game 2 WNBL26 Semi-Final win in Bendigo on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.

Towering centre Xu, 26, and the league’s leading rebounder Maley, 27, were simply outstanding as Xu finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds while Maley dropped 22 points and had 14 boards of her own.

“I think I need to be better, better than my finish, Han said.

“Sometimes, because I know my teammates, my team, they believe me, they give me the ball, and they let me play one-on-one.

“Sometimes I need to… I need to be better, and thanks to everybody who believes (in me). And this game, I think everybody worked very hard.”

The Lynx now await the winner of the Townsville Fire and Southside Flyers Semi-Finals Series. Game 2 is in Melbourne tonight (February 18, 2026).

Spirit head coach and WNBL26 Coach of the Year Kennedy Kereama was introspective in the post-game press conference, having rebuilt his roster this season while losing pregnant championship centre Marianna Tolo mid-season. It would have been Australian Opals centre Tolo’s responsibility to guard Xu.

“Just from my perspective, an amazing season to build an incredible foundation on,” Kereama said.

“We’ve had a huge turnover of players. This group here, as KG (Kelsey Griffin) said post-game, has just had tremendous growth.

“I’m incredibly proud of all of them. Obviously, we would have loved for our season to continue, but I think tonight Perth showed their experience and why they certainly earned their spot in the finals.

“So we wish them the best. But yeah, look, I’m so proud of this group. Just immense growth in all areas this year.”

Kereama was right. Perth’s experience was the difference between the two contenders. Xu, Maley, Amy Atwell, Ally Wilson and Alex Ciabattoni all played more than 30 minutes except for Xu (25:38).

“Trying to play a bit of 3D chess,” Lynx head coach Ryan Petrik said.

“I think we made one sub – two subs – the whole (third) quarter, so trying to make sure all of our girls don’t expire that are playing the entire 10.

“We’re also trying to manage foul trouble. I thought you had three at the time – you (Xu) had three – so I’m trying to deal with Han’s foul trouble.

“(Isobel) Borlase is starting to get away from us a little bit, but she’s starting to get gassed, so can we get Borlase in more actions and try and wear her down – maybe we score, maybe we don’t, but maybe that impacts her offensive workload.

“And then obviously trying to manage the timeout situations as well. So then we had three left, and we tried to burn one on a free throw before we lost it with two minutes left, and then the free throw missed.

“So we’re trying to find, do we burn some timeouts here to give our girls a rest, or do we think we’re currently fresher than what Bendigo are.

“So, it's a combination of all those random, useless thoughts. And yeah, we got out of there.”

WNBL26 MVP Isobel Borlase showed why she was voted the league’s best player this season with elite shotmaking. The 21-year-old finished with 23 points on high-volume 9-from-25.

“Yeah, the scary thing is you’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg,” Kereama said.

“This young lady could do anything. To have someone like that within our program has just given us a tremendous amount of challenges to continue to try and provide the resources needed for these young women to continue to grow and develop.

“It’s been a fun ride. A really fun ride working with Izzy. She’s a tremendous talent.”

Key Details

• Result: Perth Lynx 81 def. Bendigo Spirit 75
• When: Tuesday, 17th February 2026
• Where: Red Energy Arena, Bendigo
• Series: 2-0 Perth Lynx

By the Numbers

• Han Xu (Perth Lynx) starred with 25 points, 14 rebounds, and one assist in 26 minutes.
• Isobel Borlase (Bendigo Spirit) scored 23 points, had eight rebounds and eight assists in 38 minutes.

What Happened

Both teams opened with intense, back-and-forth scoring in a tightly contested first quarter, with Perth holding a slim 20-19 lead as neither side seized control. The Lynx surged in the second period, outscoring Bendigo 23-17 to secure a 43-38 halftime lead.

Bendigo responded in the third quarter, scoring 24 to Perth's 21, but remained behind 64-62. In the fourth, Perth's depth secured a 17-13 edge and the six-point win.

Han Xu dominated with 25 points on 55% shooting. She excelled in the paint, making 11 of 20 two-point shots and adding four blocks. Her 14 rebounds (four offensive) gave Perth key second-chance points.

Anneli Maley added 22 points and 14 rebounds, hitting three of six threes and all five free throws. Captain Amy Atwell contributed 14 points, showing versatility from both two-point and free-throw range.

Isobel Borlase led Bendigo with 23 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, shooting 47%. Kelsey Griffin posted 18 points and 15 rebounds, but the Spirit managed only 26% on 34 threes versus Perth's 32% on 19.

Perth shot 51% from the field, while Bendigo shot 38%. The Lynx outscored Bendigo 46-30 in the paint and won the boards 50-47, securing extra possessions for the win.