{"id":661030,"date":"2026-05-10T03:02:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T03:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/661030\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T03:02:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T03:02:28","slug":"anneli-maleys-grind-earns-fresh-wnba-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/661030\/","title":{"rendered":"Anneli Maley\u2019s grind earns fresh WNBA opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anneli Maley\u2019s relentless rise lands her another WNBA chance with Phoenix Mercury.<\/p>\n

Australian forward Anneli Maley<\/a>\u2019s Phoenix Mercury<\/a> debut box score reads 6 minutes, one point, two rebounds, a foul and -1 against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces <\/a>in the opening weekend of the 2026 WNBA season.<\/p>\n

But as far as box scores go, it pales in comparison to the Melbourne-born forward’s arrival in Arizona on Sunday, May 10, 2026 (AEDT).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to try really hard,\u201d she said after recording the only triple-double of WNBL26 with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists<\/a> against the Sydney Flames.<\/p>\n

Her own words sum up her past 12 months: Opals omission; and championship loss<\/a> to the Townsville Fire.<\/p>\n

Maley, 27, has landed a second WNBA opportunity in 2026 after being claimed off waivers<\/a> by the Phoenix Mercury following her preseason stint with the New York Liberty.<\/p>\n

She was part of Mercury\u2019s first win<\/a> \u2013 99-66 \u2013 to thoroughly spoil the Aces\u2019 opening night ring ceremony.<\/p>\n

\"\"Anneli Maley of the Lynx reacts after shooting a three pointer during the round 17 WNBL match between Perth Lynx and Sydney Flames at Perth High Performance Centre on February 7, 2026 in Perth. Photo: James Worsfold\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the Liberty\u2019s 79\u201367 preseason win<\/a> against the Connecticut Sun on May 4, 2026 (AEDT), Maley produced 13 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes, shooting 3-for-5 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t make the cut. But as one door closes, another opens.<\/p>\n

The Perth Lynx star shattered the all-time NBL1 single-game scoring record in April, exploding for 65 points and 17 rebounds for the Perth Redbacks against the Willetton Tigers while posting an extraordinary 85% True Shooting percentage.<\/p>\n

65 pts \u2502 17 reb \u2502 5 ast \u2502 21\u201329 FG \u2502 4\u20137 3PT \u2502 19\u201321 FT<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite her form \u2013\u00a0leading WNBL26 in rebounding with 14.4 boards per game \u2013 Maley was controversially omitted<\/a> from the Australian Opals squad for the 2026 FIBA World Cup qualifiers, prompting Perth Lynx coach Ryan Petrik to admit he was \u201cshell-shocked\u201d by the decision.<\/p>\n

“Do you want the diplomatic answer or the brutally honest one? I\u2019ll get fired if I give the brutal one,” Petrik said after the Lynx demolished the Adelaide Lightning 109-82<\/a> on Sunday, December 21, 2025 in Adelaide.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ll say again \u2013 shell-shocked. I\u2019m not sure what else she\u2019s meant to do. We\u2019ll leave it there.”<\/p>\n

\"\"Phoenix Mercury forward Anneli Maley attacks the basket over Brittney Griner \u2013 while Perth Lynx teammate Han Xu crashes the boards \u2013 during WNBA preseason action while playing for the New York Liberty at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. Photo: Sean D. Elliot\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Maley was dominant playing next to Chinese international superstar Han Xu<\/a>, who has been signed by the New York Liberty. She had 19 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists.<\/p>\n

“She\u2019s playing really, really well. I think all of us are a little bit shell-shocked that she wasn\u2019t in that Opals squad, because her form has been elite,” he added.<\/p>\n

“Everyone who made that roster is really talented, so I\u2019m not taking anything away from them.<\/p>\n

“But if you\u2019re picking on form, with how she\u2019s playing and with us sitting where we are on the ladder despite being at half to three-quarter strength most of the season, I\u2019m not sure what else she\u2019s meant to do.\u200d”<\/p>\n

Now, after impressing in New York\u2019s preseason rotation, Maley has forced her way onto a WNBA roster with Phoenix as the Mercury continue reshaping their frontcourt depth in 2026.<\/p>\n

The move also reunites Maley with a growing Australian presence in the WNBA, with Phoenix already featuring Opals veteran Sami Whitcomb.<\/p>\n

Anneli Maley \u2013 WNBL26 Season Stats<\/p>\n

Perth Lynx \u2502 Forward \u2502 No. 24 \u2502 187cm \u2502 Born September 1, 1998<\/p>\n

Points15.56<\/p>\n

Rebounds14.41<\/p>\n

Assists3.70<\/p>\n

Steals1.48<\/p>\n

Blocks0.33<\/p>\n

Turnovers2.15<\/p>\n

DateMINPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOPFFGMFGAFG%3PM3PA3P%FT%<\/p>\n

Season Average33:0315.5614.413.701.480.332.151.855.4113.3040.71.675.0732.884.4<\/p>\n

Advanced27 GP418 PTS387 REB100 AST40 STL9 BLK58 TO50 PF14635940.74513732.8TS% 52.1 \u2502 20 double-doubles \u2502 1 triple-double<\/p>\n

Mar 1, 202642:20271960033131968.41250.00.0
\n Feb 26, 202640:0012156313441040.01520.075.0
\n Feb 17, 202639:1722143012171546.73650.083.3
\n Feb 14, 202636:3824135316271643.83837.587.5
\n Feb 7, 202626:081891011125771.422100.085.7
\n Feb 1, 202631:4113223201151338.52633.350.0
\n Jan 27, 202633:1725144401191656.33742.9100.0
\n Jan 25, 202633:2013162203042020.01119.1100.0
\n Jan 20, 202630:267144202221414.321020.050.0
\n Jan 15, 202633:4710163002441723.5050.066.7
\n Jan 10, 202635:1425120203171258.344100.087.5
\n Jan 4, 202634:14915300212450.01333.366.7
\n Jan 2, 202627:4118156305381553.32540.00.0
\n Dec 28, 202525:4422137001281457.12366.7100.0
\n Dec 23, 202531:3216214002161346.22728.6100.0
\n Dec 21, 202529:4719167202161154.53560.0100.0
\n Dec 14, 202533:351115300314757.11333.3100.0
\n Dec 5, 202528:501319600024944.41425.066.7
\n Nov 29, 202528:445124302221020.0040.050.0
\n Nov 23, 202529:539111104241822.211010.00.0
\n Nov 16, 202533:531216320114944.42366.7100.0
\n Nov 11, 202529:17863200231225.0030.0100.0
\n Nov 9, 202533:4722130101272035.02728.685.7
\n Nov 4, 202536:3521142041472231.83560.0100.0
\n Nov 1, 202532:471551202271450.0020.050.0
\n Oct 26, 202533:5917173203151145.52450.0100.0
\n Oct 19, 202534:325151312221118.21333.30.0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anneli Maley\u2019s relentless rise lands her another WNBA chance with Phoenix Mercury. Australian forward Anneli Maley\u2019s Phoenix Mercury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-661030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}