Leonie Fiebich kept tabs on the Liberty the best she could when she was away for EuroBasket the past few weeks.
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tRY IT NOWShe saw the underwhelming results and updates on social media. She got texts from her WNBA teammates asking her to come back.
“It’s also OK for us to go through a phase like this that it’s hitting us now and not later in the year,” Fiebich said after practice Wednesday. “We just gotta find a way back.”
Now is the time to do just that.
The Liberty opened their title defense with a franchise-best 9-0 start.
Over the past 2 ½ weeks, though, they have faltered.
The team lost five of its past seven games and recently finished a 10-day road trip with back-to-back losses in Phoenix and Atlanta.
The Liberty (11-5) entered Wednesday ranked third in the league standings.
Despite the struggles, though, Natasha Cloud believes outsiders need to take a “chill pill.”
“We have everything that we need,” Cloud said. “In that locker room, there is no panic. I think everyone needs to take a reality check. … We have two missing starters.”
The Liberty were without two starters for most of that stretch since Fiebich — one of the team’s best defenders — went overseas for EuroBasket and Jonquel Jones — New York’s best rim protector — aggravated a right ankle sprain.
It didn’t help either that Sabrina Ionescu was a late scratch for the June 22 loss in Seattle after she woke up with a kink in her neck.
Ionescu still didn’t have full movement in her neck when she helped the Liberty beat the Valkyries in front of a rowdy violet-laden crowd in San Francisco.
Ionescu is better now, and Fiebich is back in the mix. The German wing is expected to play Thursday against the Sparks.
Jones is also on the mend and was seen doing individual work off to the side with director of player development coach Andrew Wade toward the end of Wednesday’s practice.
The Liberty didn’t anticipate Jones returning before WNBA All-Star weekend (July 18 and 19) based on their initial June 21 update that she’d be out for four to six weeks.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since she reinjured her ankle in June, Jones said she doesn’t have a target date for her return to play but feels she’s in a “good spot.”
This all bodes well for the Liberty, who are playing eight straight games at home, starting Thursday.
“I think we’re going to be able to kind of turn the page and see a different team here when we’re back at home,” Ionescu said.
Ionescu thought it was promising to see the team “fought” over the past two weeks, despite being shorthanded. She described the team vibes as “good.”
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“Everyone kind of sees the big picture and isn’t really panicking,” she said. “It’s just that understanding of we need people to step up, we need people to continue to try and make up for the players that aren’t here and those are really big shoes to fill. And so we just need to continue to chip away.”
The Liberty aren’t scheduled to hit the road again until their July 28 game in Arlington, Texas, against the Wings.
If they do in fact get back on track before the All-Star break, then the previous turbulence will be only a blip in a long season.
But if problems persist even with Fiebich on the floor, then it might be time to sound the alarm.
For now, though, the Liberty deserve the benefit of the doubt given their championship credentials and the recent circumstances.
But they should know the sand in the hourglass is running low.
“Everyone faces adversity, so you got to stay together,” coach Sandy Brondello said. “This is where your character shows. And we’re our worst enemy, you know what I mean?
“In the end, we didn’t play hard enough. And so that’s what the last few days have been about. Getting back to who we are and demanding more. And Leo makes a big difference.”