Perth Lynx co-captain Anneli Maley has declared she never imagined she would have the chance to play in front of 14,000 fans in America after making a huge impact during her pre-season debut for New York Liberty against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever.
Maley signed a training camp contract with the Liberty in the hope of making the club’s main roster and was superb during 29 minutes on the floor. She scored 13 points, won seven rebounds and had three assists during the 109-91 loss at the Barclays Center.
The Lynx star was playing with and against some of the biggest names in the world. Clark played just over 16 minutes in her return from injury and scored seven points, while dual WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart is one of Maley’s teammates.
Maley has dominated the WNBL, but her pre-season with Los Angeles ended in early disappointment last season. She said she will never forget her first opportunity to play for the Liberty.
“It was so cool. I’ve never played in front of a crowd like this in my life,” she said. “I’m trying to stay grounded and be in the moment but then take a moment to really appreciate what this means to me and my career. It’s little me from Australia.
“Never in a million years would I have thought - even 10 years ago that I would have been able to play in an arena like this. Giving assists to Stewie - that is so cool.”
“I got cut on the second day of training camp at LA.. Even just getting the opportunity to play a game, I feel really thankful and really blessed that I have the opportunity to step out on court every day. There’s so many talented players out of the this league. Sometimes you can forget that we are just people and this is really cool for us too.”
Maley finished runner-up in the WNBL MVP award last season but is refusing to put herself under pressure during her time with New York despite not being guaranteed a place on their roster. She said it was important to enjoy every opportunity and understand that chances will continue to become available if she is constantly playing well.
“As professional athletes, we never stop working. We never stop trying. I just keep trying. I’m not one to stop,” she said. “If I get cut, I will try again. The road for a lot of people is not that you get drafted out of college and make a team. That’s not really how it works 99 per cent of the time. I’ll keep trying. I’ll keep showing up. I’ve been cut from so many teams in my life. It’s led me in so many cool directions.”
