The Liberty’s stellar performance on Saturday was almost exactly what head coach Sandy Brondello and general manager Jonathan Kolb had envisioned this past offseason, with two disconcerting exceptions.
The 81-67 win against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena was powered by a rebuilt bench, which was pressed into extra duty when starters Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (right knee) and Breanna Stewart (load management) were sidelined.
Leonie Fiebich and Kennedy Burke started in place of the star wing and two-time MVP in the Liberty’s second meeting with the Sky in two days.
Ivana Dojkic, Kayla Thornton, and Nyara Sabally also logged significant minutes.
game against the Sky. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post
The five players combined for 38 of the Liberty’s 81 points.
And they beat the Sky, who lead the WNBA in points in the paint, at their own game, out-scoring Chicago 36-34 from the lane.
Even without two of their top defenders, the Liberty limited Angel Reese to eight points, ending her double-double streak at 15 games.
“I mean it’s huge,” Sabrina Ionescu said. “Understanding we had to do a little bit more, obviously with some starters out. Hats off to them, we don’t win this game without players that came in and stepped up. … Obviously, we could have used every excuse in the book to come out here and not play our style of basketball, but we knew we had enough here to come out and do what we had to do to get this win.”
Entering the WNBA Finals last season, the Liberty’s bench appeared to have the advantage.
It was not the case.
The Aces’ reserves helped them to a second consecutive championship, setting the offseason agenda for Brondello and Kolb.
They added depth in Dojkic, who spent last season with the Storm.
After sitting the four prior games, Dojkic came off the bench in both Sky matchups.
She had 12 points, two rebounds, and a steal in the second game, scoring 11 of her 12 points in the first half.
“She’s huge,” Fiebich said. “It’s not easy to not play a couple of games and then just come in and get these minutes, she did great. She was hitting almost every shot on offense. She was giving us some pressure on the point guard on defense, which is always annoying for the other team.”
Fiebich, who joined the Liberty from Spanish club Casademont Zaragoza, adds length in the club’s backcourt at 6-foot-4.
She scored 13 points on 50 percent shooting against the Sky on Saturday, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, along with six rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Burke, a 6-foot-1 forward in her sixth season who the Liberty pried back to the league from overseas, put the team on the board with an opening three-pointer and drove to the rim against Reese.
“We spoke about in the offseason, how do we get better, and that was with our bench,” Brondello said. “Can we have a bit of everything — scoring, shooting, slashing, defending? And we did that.
“I really respect how they stay ready, the work they do behind the scenes and when their opportunity comes, they step up.”
Missing one or more starters, the Liberty have gone 10-1 this season, with the bench contributing an average of 23.5 points during those matchups.
“When they [the bench players] do play, it gives me that confidence that I need in them and understanding they know what their role is,” Ionescu said. “That’s what makes us a really tough team, because our bench is just as good as any bench in the league.”