WNBA playoff takeaways: Liberty alter starting lineup in easy win over Dream

The No. 1 New York Liberty started Sunday’s slate of WNBA playoff games with an 83-69 win over the No. 8 Atlanta Dream. New York can sweep the series with a win Tuesday, while Atlanta will look to force a Game 3.

New York was dominant from start to finish, outscoring Atlanta 29-16 in the first quarter. Here’s what it took for the Liberty to win Game 1:

Leonie Fiebich saves best game for playoffs

This was the Liberty rookie’s first playoff game, and Leonie Fiebich made the most of it. She’s been a key contributor for New York all season, mostly coming off the bench, but coach Sandy Brondello opted to start Fiebich against Atlanta. She finished with a season-high 21 points and was 5-of-5 shooting in the first half. She’s averaging 6.7 points, 3 rebounds and 1.8 assists on the season.

Fiebich, who will likely earn All-Rookie honors this season, finished 7-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. She is also just the seventh rookie to have her first 20-point game in the playoffs.

Fiebich started in place of 14-year veteran Courtney Vandersloot. But despite coming off the bench for the first time in her 32 appearances this season, Vandersloot still made history. The guard dished out her 365th assist, passing Sue Bird for the most assists in WNBA playoff history.

Liberty win 3-point and free-throw battle

New York got out to a hot start, going 5-of-10 from the 3-point line in the first half, while the Dream were 0-of-8. New York cooled off after halftime and finished the game 8-of-23 (34.8%), but Atlanta couldn’t close the 3-point shooting gap. The Dream were 3-of-16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc.

Fiebich scored 12 points from beyond the arc, and Sabrina Ionescu added 9, going 3-of-7 from distance.

The Liberty also won the free-throw battle, making 17-of-18 attempts to Atlanta’s 12-of-19.

Starters shine, while bench stays quiet

Of New York’s 83 points, all but four came from the starting five. Fiebich led with 21, Breanna Stewart had 20, Ionescu had 17, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton had 10 and Jonquel Jones added 9. Vandersloot had all the bench points.

The lack of bench scoring wasn’t an issue against Atlanta, and it likely won’t be for the remainder of the series, but New York will need production outside of its starting five as the playoffs progress.

Kayla Thornton, Kennedy Burke, Nyara Sabally and Vandersloot are all capable of contributing off the bench. Vandersloot typically scores 6.4 points per game, Thornton averages 5.5, Sabally contributes 4.9, and Burke averages 3.4. Meanwhile, Fiebich is usually New York’s biggest contributor off the bench, but if she continues to start, the Liberty will need to find a lift outside of their first five.