The New York Liberty might owe Leonie Fiebich and her second unit compatriots an extra "danke" before this weekend lets out.
Almost every major cast member returned for one of this summer's most anticipated sequels, Saturday's WNBA Finals rematch between the Liberty and Las Vegas Aces. The German-born Fiebich and her fellow metropolitan understudies Kennedy Burke and Ivana Dojkic were among the newcomers to the latest chapter of the full-fledged interconference rivalry.
While New York headliner Jonquel Jones ruled the day with a career-best 34 points in a 90-82 victory that afforded them a quantum of revenge for last fall's Finals fall, each of the Liberty subs had a role to play in the landmark win: Burke pulled two rebounds and had an assist and steal each in just under nine minutes while Dojkic showed a new sense of offensive confidence with four points, a trio of triple attempts and a trip to the foul line gained through improved transition.
"I thought we had a pretty average first half, just hadn't played in a while to get our legs back going, but I thought Leo brought great energy," head coach Sandy Brondello said. "Ivana, too. She hasn't had many opportunities but we keep reminding her that she can help us and to stay ready. I thought she did an excellent job tonight. That's what we need, Kennedy as well. We've talked about depth being one of our strengths and it's certainly showing even though we've got two important players down."
Saturday proved to be another sterling showcase for Fiebich, who has endured a trial by fire at the onset of her WNBA career.
Denied a chance at a full training camp experience thanks to the completion of her international duties, Fiebich has been thrust into a situation where she's had more game experience than practice. Such a scenario has only been exacerbated by a packed schedule (New York played five games in eight days last week) and the absences of Courtney Vandersloot and fellow reserve Nyara Sabally.
Sixth woman Kayla Thornton has occupied Vandersloot's role in the opening lineup but Fiebich has earned closing duties: Saturday's game saw her stand as the only New Yorker to play all 10 minutes of the final period and she had a plus/minus in the black at 16 before Vegas earned a few late tallies to beautify the final.
Fiebich is averaging 7.8 fourth quarter minutes over the past six games, hitting over 54 percent of her three point tries. Entering the weekend, Fiebich was the last of seven Liberty women to rank in the WNBA's top 11 of fourth quarter defensive rating (min. 5 mins. played), rounding out the list at 86.8. Fiebich has used her length on defense while shooting from distance, helping New York turn close calls into bench emptiers.
"We always knew she had great talent but it's not easy for a new player to come into a new system with all these new players and learn with limited practice. But Leo's a baller," Brondello praised before Saturday's game. "She's played professional basketball for such a long time. I think that experience playing in Spain and then playing with her country in Germany just helps. She's got a high IQ and she's figuring it out on the fly."
"We're really, really happy with her. I think there's another level we can get to her for sure, so I'm really excited about what the rest of the year looks like."
Primarily built on the talents of downright W legends and history makers, the ironic part about the ongoing Liberty-Aces struggle is that role players and second units may often make the ultimate difference, especially in a modern Association where the talent pool enters the deep end.
Time will tell exactly what sort of impact Saturday's game leaves, especially considering the fact that Las Vegas was missing star shooter Chelsea Gray. But the revamped bench unit, one replacing the relatively sparingly used group headlined by Stef Dolson and Marine Johannes, could become the catapult in the Liberty's final obstacle toward an elusive championship. The primary players remain the same, but the differences are no doubt making a difference.
The Liberty bench's next chance to impress lands on Tuesday night when New York wraps up a brief Western tour against the Phoenix Mercury (10 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network).
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