BERLIN — Dallas Wings forward Alanna Smith did not play in the second half of Australia’s 70-54 win over Puerto Rico in its FIBA Women’s World Cup opener Friday at Max-Schmeling-Halle, and Basketball Australia called her absence “precautionary due to lower leg tightness.”
Smith scored 10 points, had 8 rebounds, and shot 4-for-5 in 12 minutes before limping on a defensive rebound in the second quarter. She walked off, talked with a physio, and returned to the bench. After halftime, she sat at the end of the bench in a hoodie. Opals coach Sandy Brondello had no medical update after the game.
“I don’t have a status report on Alanna,” Brondello said. “Obviously we’re praying that she’ll be okay. She’s such a big part of what we do, and she had played great in the 12 minutes that she did play.”
Australia plays Turkiye on Sunday at 4:30 a.m. CT and Belgium on Monday at 4:30 a.m. CT. The top two teams in Group C advance directly to the quarterfinals.
Why The Opals Cannot Replace Alanna Smith
FIBA closes World Cup rosters at the technical meeting before the tournament. Its regulations state that once that meeting is declared closed, no changes to the 12-player roster can be made at any time during the competition, per Peter Brown of The Pick and Roll. If Smith cannot continue, Australia plays the rest of the tournament with 11.
Australia already lost one starter before the deadline. Captain Sami Whitcomb, 38, withdrew last week with issues stemming from a knee injury suffered during the WNBA preseason, and Miela Sowah took her roster spot. Brondello was able to make that swap only because Whitcomb pulled out before the technical meeting. Ezi Magbegor of the Seattle Storm is the captain in Whitcomb’s place.
Zitina Aokuso started the second half at Smith’s spot and finished with 6 points. Steph Talbot of the Las Vegas Aces led Australia with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists and was named player of the game. Magbegor had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Australia turned the ball over 22 times.
Brondello mentioned that the team must avoid repeating the turnovers and Puerto Rico’s offensive rebounding, which were the two key issues.
“We know we can’t turn the ball over or give up so many offensive boards,” Brondello explained. “The most important thing: we won. And now we have to get ready for the next battle.”
Alanna Smith’s Injury Season With The Dallas Wings
Smith signed a three-year maximum contract with Dallas in April, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal at the time. She was the WNBA’s co-Defensive Player of the Year with the Minnesota Lynx in 2025.
Her first Wings season has run through a broken nose in the preseason, a stint in the concussion protocol in late June, and 4 straight missed games in July with a right leg injury. She came back on July 31 in Washington, moved into the starting lineup over Awak Kuier on Aug. 2 against Connecticut, and started 11 straight games to close the first part of the schedule.
On Aug. 20 against Indiana, she left briefly with a right leg issue and returned. On Aug. 23 against Seattle, she took a shot to the head in the second quarter and finished the game. On Aug. 30, in a 97-71 win over Connecticut, she went to the locker room in the first quarter with an apparent ankle injury, came back, and finished with 7 points and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes.
In 32 games this season, she is averaging 6.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists on 45.7% shooting.
Before leaving for Berlin, Smith told Melissa Triebwasser of The IX Sports that her Wings teammates on other national rosters, including Paige Bueckers with the United States, would become opponents for two weeks.
“It’s so cool that we’ve got so much diversity on the team, and so I’m excited to just get to Berlin and be able to see my now-teammates become opponents, and I’ll be cheering for them personally,” Smith said. “I hope they do well on a personal level, but I hope their teams lose.”
The Wings clinched a playoff berth with a 96-78 win over Portland on Aug. 25. They resume the regular season Thursday, Sept. 17, against the Los Angeles Sparks at College Park Center at 7 p.m. CT.
