In her return, Leonie Fiebich sparks New York Liberty's win - ESPN

NEW YORK — New York Liberty wing Leonie Fiebich spent the last seven weeks watching from the sidelines as the Liberty struggled to find a groove, going 9-7 in her absence as she recovered from a left foot injury. The defensive standout and 3-point shooting ace was, as she put it, «suffering a lot» observing from afar, «know[ing] we struggle sometimes in games and know[ing] that I can help and want to do that.»

In her first game back Saturday, Fiebich demonstrated just how much of a boost she can be for the championship-minded Liberty, leaving her fingerprints all over New York's 109-102 victory over the Indiana Fever.

Fiebich — whom Liberty coach Chris DeMarco called «one of the best players in the entire WNBA» — finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, with New York shooting 5-for-5 off her passes. She was also the best defender on Caitlin Clark, limiting her to 5 points on 2-for-7 shooting.

Fiebich had a minutes restriction, but with her feeling OK physically and making such a massive impact, that was thrown out the window for her to play just shy of 34 minutes.

«It felt like she was impacting the game in so many different areas, even in areas that weren't on the stat sheet,' said Jonquel Jones, who finished with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double. „Picking up full court, being really aggressive defensively, helping us set the tone defensively. I think it was an all-around game for her.… She just really did everything at a high level today.“

The Liberty are hoping that — after a rocky start to DeMarco's first year — Fiebich's reincorporation into the lineup gets them one step closer to playing like the team they've believed they can be.

»There's just this bond that we have with one another," Sabrina