Libertys Leonie Fiebich has big night, shows rare on-court emotion in return from lengthy injury

Leonie Fiebich is usually quite stoic on the court for the Liberty.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.

But playing her first game in seven weeks Saturday, Fiebich let down her guard and let it out.She roared to the crowd after converting an and-1 layup that gave the Liberty an 81-72 lead.“I don’t know what happened there,” Fiebich said after the Liberty’s 109-102 win over the Indiana Fever.“Honestly, doesn’t happen often … I just had some, it’s just a natural reaction.

Really happy that it was going well for us, I feel like we needed a little bit of energy to just lay it out.”Fiebich, who hadn’t played since July 3 because of a left foot injury, said she was “suffering a lot” over the past week when she felt like she could play but was held out by the team’s performance staff.But Fiebich’s presence was felt throughout Saturday’s game.She was the connective tissue the team needed on both ends.To be honest, Fiebich didn’t anticipate having as big a performance as she ultimately did.“I knew that I wanted to have an impact defensively,” she said, “because that’s what we need and just help the team in whatever way.”Fiebich did that and more.She scored or assisted on 32 of the team’s points.

She also limited Caitlin Clark to 2-for-7 shooting when Fiebich was the primary defender.“It sucks to not be on the court, to have to watch,” said Fiebich, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.“It was good to actually be on the court and help the team.

That’s all I want to do.So I was really happy that I could do that today.”The Liberty may have allowed 102 points to the league’s best offense.

But New York still felt it was one of its better defensive efforts of the season.Fiebich’s return aided the team’s defensive efforts.But the team felt it was more in sync on defense.“We were all real...