The No. 1 New York Liberty opened the WNBA playoffs on Sunday with an 83-69 win over the No. 8 Atlanta Dream. New York can sweep the series with a win on Tuesday, while Atlanta will try to force a Game 3.
New York was dominant from start to finish, outscoring Atlanta 29-16 in the first quarter, which was necessary for the Liberty to win Game 1:
Leonie Fiebich saves best match for play-offs
This was the Liberty rookie’s first playoff game, and Leonie Fiebich made the most of it. She’s been a key contributor for New York all season, mostly as a substitute, but coach Sandy Brondello opted to start Fiebich against Atlanta. She finished with a season-high 21 points and was 5 of 5 shooting in the first half. She’s averaging 6.7 points, 3 rebounds and 1.8 assists on the season.
Fiebich, who is expected to earn All-Rookie honors this season, finished 7 of 8 from the floor, including 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. She also became just the seventh rookie to record her first 20-point game in the playoffs.
Fiebich started in place of 14-year veteran Courtney Vandersloot. But despite coming off the bench for the first time in her 32 appearances this season, Vandersloot made history. The guard dished out her 365th assist, surpassing Sue Bird for the most assists in WNBA playoff history.
Liberty wins 3-point and free throw battle
New York started hot, making 5 of 10 three-pointers in the first half, while the Dream were 0 of 8. New York cooled down after the break, finishing 8 of 23 (34.8%), but Atlanta couldn’t close the three-point gap. The Dream were 3 of 16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc.
Fiebich scored 12 points from beyond the three-point line and Sabrina Ionescu added nine, making 3 of 7 shots from distance.
The Liberty also won the free throw battle, making 17 of 18 attempts, compared to Atlanta’s 12 of 19.
Starters shine while the bank remains silent
Of New York’s 83 points, all but four came from the starting five. Fiebich led with 21, Breanna Stewart had 20, Ionescu had 17, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton had 10 and Jonquel Jones added nine. Vandersloot had all of his points off the bench.
The lack of scoring output off the bench wasn’t a problem against Atlanta and likely won’t be for the rest of the series, but New York will need production outside of its starting five as the playoffs progress.
Kayla Thornton, Kennedy Burke, Nyara Sabally and Vandersloot can all contribute off the bench. Vandersloot typically scores 6.4 points per game, Thornton averages 5.5, Sabally contributes 4.9 and Burke averages 3.4. Meanwhile, Fiebich is typically New York’s biggest contributor off the bench, but if she continues to start, Liberty will need to find a lift outside of their starting five.
