Leonie Fiebich’s late surge lifts Liberty to 76-69 OT win over Mercury

Leonie Fiebich shook off an uneven night to finish with five pivotal points in overtime and lift the New York Liberty to a 76-69 victory over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday in Phoenix.

Fiebich struggled offensively for much of regulation — making one of five 3-point attempts and committing three turnovers in the third quarter — but remained active on the defensive end and stepped up when the Liberty needed her most. With Sabrina Ionescu closely guarded by Monique Akoa Makani and Alyssa Thomas applying pressure inside, Fiebich made a decisive backdoor cut and finished on a bounce pass from Ionescu for a layup that gave New York a seven-point lead with 2:20 remaining in overtime.

Moments later, Natasha Cloud swung the ball to Fiebich on the perimeter and Fiebich sank what Cloud and teammates called the game-clinching 3. The Liberty held on to claim the opening game of the best-of-three series and returned to Brooklyn with home-court advantage for Game 2 on Wednesday.

"It's funny, she had missed some early on, and I knew she was gonna hit the biggest one of the night," Ionescu said. "She's one of the best 3-point shooters in the world and we know that. We continue to believe in her. She continues to believe in herself, put in the work. But I mean, that was the biggest shot of the night that she hit and kind of just solidified us winning this game."

Cloud praised Fiebich's defensive impact, saying much of her value doesn't appear on a stat sheet. "Leo does so much defensively that won’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet, won’t necessarily be talked about even on broadcast, but she is so sound to everything that we do that when you remove her, you feel a little bit of chaos because we don’t have our stability there," Cloud said. "So even though Leo might not have had those big shots in the beginning, she made it when it mattered. But she impacts the game much more than just the scoring."

Teammates pointed to a tuneup practice Saturday as evidence of Fiebich's preparation. Cloud said she and Kennedy Burke watched Fiebich shoot and that Cloud believed her form was flawless. "Leo’s form is so f–king pretty, like it is cash," Cloud said. When Fiebich's shots weren't falling on Sunday, Cloud said she stayed positive on the bench and encouraged her to keep shooting.

Fiebich's late scoring provided a contrast to several of New York's other offensive sources in the game and underlined the Liberty's depth as the postseason begins. The Mercury, hampered at times by New York's defense, were unable to recover in overtime.

The series shifts to Brooklyn for Game 2 on Wednesday, where the Liberty will seek to close out the first-round matchup and the Mercury will look to even the series.

Fiebich's ability to answer in crunch time offered a timely confidence boost for the Liberty as they prepare for a potentially decisive game on their home floor.