It was a banner day for The Sixth Woman as the WNBA playoffs tipped off Sunday. The presumptive favorites for Sixth Player of the Year — Leonie Fiebich and Tiffany Hayes , dazzled. Fiebich even earned the start after spending most of her rookie season coming off the bench.
Marina Mabrey had the most points ever for a reserve in a playoff game, with 27 in her first postseason appearance with Connecticut . And Minnesota ’s Bridget Carleton , who started the season as a bench player but landed in the starting lineup via injury and never relinquished her spot, hit perhaps the biggest shot of the day. BRIDGET CARLETON.
BANG. pic.twitter.
com/o34QwFRzZ7 — Dime (@DimeUPROXX) September 22, 2024 The stars had their moments of brilliance as well: Alyssa Thomas’ fourth playoff triple-double, Napheesa Collier ’s career-high of 38, and A’ja Wilson ’s 15-point third quarter buoying their teams to victory. But in the words of Wilson, the postseason requires everything from everyone, including lesser-known players subbing in to change the energy and the outcome of games. Advertisement The beauty of the playoffs is that a singular performance can affect an entire series.
One hot night — especially in a three-game series — can be the difference between moving on and going home. With four Game 1s in the books and all four favorites looking for sweeps in Game 2, what other factors can tilt the balance? Change to Liberty starting lineup key to Game 1 win NEW YORK — Before the New York Liberty’s practice on Saturday, coach Sandy Brondello told guard Courtney Vandersloot that she would be opening the postseason in a different role. Vandersloot, who last came off the bench at the beginning of the 2017 season, would be sliding out of the Liberty’s starting five.
Rookie wing Leonie Fiebich would be replacing her in the opening group. Vandersloot said she appreciated the conversation with Brondello, who explained to the veteran .that she wanted to always have two ballhandlers on the court.
“I think that this whole time that we’ve been here it’s been about sacrifice and whatever is best for the team as a whole,” Vandersloot said. “I also understand that it takes more than just five, and if this is going to make us better, then I’m absolutely willing to do that.” In Sunday’s start to the first-round series against the Atlanta Dream , Fiebich heard her name announced in front of a sellout crowd of 12,115.
The change paid immediate dividends. Leonie Fiebich scored 15 points on 100% (5-5) shooting from the field in the first half. Fiebich set a new WNBA record for most points scored without a miss in the first half of a postseason game (min.
1 3PA). — NYL Stats (@NYL_Stats) September 22, 2024 Dream coach Tanisha Wright noted the impact of New York punching first as Atlanta didn’t handle the physicality well. Fiebich, a 24-year-old rookie, opened the game guarding Dream wing Rhyne Howard .
Her length disrupted Howard, who tried to navigate around staggered screens. Howard missed her first seven shots and didn’t score until the beginning of the third quarter as New York rolled to an 83-69 win. Advertisement Fiebich also was torrid on offense.
New York made its first seven field goals. After averaging only 6.7 points this season, Fiebich hit her first five shots.
She ended with a team-high 21, a new career-high, surpassing her previous high of 16. Fiebich might be new to the WNBA, but she is no stranger to high-level competition, whether that’s playing in the EuroLeague or in the recent Paris Olympics for her native Germany. She also won MVP of the Spanish league this past season.
“We’ve raved about her contributions all season long, and it’s a no-brainer,” Brondello said. New York has found success with Fiebich in the starting lineup before. She started 15 regular-season games, and Sunday’s starters ranked as the third-most used group for the Liberty this season, according to WNBA stats.
It had a plus-23.8 net rating. Because of Fiebich’s size, New York can switch almost any screen (they were a plus-85.
2 defensive rating), and Fiebich’s presence on offense allows the Liberty to keep the floor spaced. Plus, she provides consistent shooting from 3. “She’s throwing a pebble into an ocean,” Vandersloot said of Fiebich’s hot shooting.
The last time Vandersloot came off the bench was briefly at the start of the 2017 campaign with the Chicago Sky — so long ago, she said she didn’t remember much about it. Against the Dream, she served as a primary ballhandler. (In the second half, she also set a WNBA record for playoff assists, passing Sue Bird’s mark of 362.
) Brondello said they will keep the same starting lineup in Game 2. The decision marked the first chess move of the series. Atlanta will be forced to counter in Tuesday’s Game 2 to avoid elimination.
if it hopes to extend its season. Changes will have to be more schematic — Wright talked about getting more physical, for instance, and heightening their pace in the half-court so Atlanta can get into a comfort zone — and not lineup-based. Advertisement “We don’t have any doubt that we can come out with a win on Tuesday,” Wright said.
“We’re still a confident bunch. We’re still positive.” — Ben Pickman The Fever need defense to even the series UNCASVILLE, Conn.
— Indiana has touted a useful stat during its second-half turnaround — when the Fever allow 84 points or fewer, they are 14-1, the lone loss coming against Las Vegas in the final week of the regular season. When they concede more, they are 6-20. Their offense can keep them in most games, but only to a certain point.
The Fever’s offense didn’t get the job done in a 93-69 loss in Game 1 to the Connecticut Sun. Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell liked the looks they were getting and are certain they can generate – and convert – similar attempts throughout the series. But a team that averages 85 points per game can’t expect to win games when the opponent gets 93.
And it’s not as if Indiana’s turnovers were jumpstarting Connecticut’s offense; the Fever had 14 turnovers that resulted in eight points. GO DEEPER Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever show their youth in loss to Connecticut Sun It was the half-court defense where Indiana struggled. Connecticut got to the rim too easily, putting the Fever’s defense in rotation and finding the gaps.
It could be as simple as DeWanna Bonner driving into the lane, drawing help, and kicking out to Mabrey in the corner. On another occasion, Lexie Hull was stuck defending Brionna Jones in the post on a switch. Aliyah Boston came over to help, but nobody helped the helper, and Alyssa Thomas was alone under the basket.
Mitchell said Indiana needed to “err on the side of aggressiveness.” That means applying some defensive pressure on the perimeter to deter drives and protect the paint. Defenses can be tempted to sag off against Sun guards because they are not normally prolific or efficient 3-point shooters, but Connecticut used that space effectively in Game 1, so the Fever need to close it off.
Mabrey’s eruption may have been an anomaly — she scored the most points off the bench in WNBA playoff history — but Indiana still allowed too many jumpers without a contest. Anyone can get in a rhythm against that type of defense. — Sabreena Merchant Did the Storm blow their best shot? Coming into Las Vegas without their starting center on the day that A’ja Wilson was crowned the unanimous WNBA MVP , a lot of elements were working against the Seattle Storm.
And yet, Seattle held Las Vegas to nine points in the first quarter. Wilson missed seven of her first eight shots, Kelsey Plum missed her first six, and the Storm were out-rebounding the Aces on both the offensive and defensive glass through the first quarter. Advertisement To take a lead into the fourth quarter, albeit a one-point advantage, and still lose by double digits was a tremendous missed opportunity for the road team.
Seattle can’t rely on Wilson and Plum to shoot that poorly going forward or for Las Vegas to go to the line so infrequently (11 foul shots), especially at home. Storm coach Noelle Quinn has been in this position before, game-planning against a very similar Aces squad in 2022 in the postseason semifinals. That should terrify her, because Las Vegas only got better as that series progressed.
Even in Game 1, you could see the Aces figure out the Storm’s nail help throughout the game, taking advantage of the gaps on the backside, specifically Tiffany Hayes with her cuts. They took away Nneka Ogwumike ’s scoring by doubling her on the catch and denied Skylar Diggins-Smith the ball, forcing non-shooters to try to beat them. The geometry of the court could change significantly if Jewell Loyd gets healthier and Ezi Magbegor is available to play, and Las Vegas won’t be able to sell out on one or two players if there are spacing threats around them.
However, the Aces also have a higher ceiling to hit if Jackie Young and Plum are more efficient, and they won’t have the burden of elimination hanging over their heads. Seattle played one of the best defensive games anyone has against Las Vegas this season. It’s easier to bank on the Aces progressing to the mean on offense than the Storm repeating the feat on defense.
— Sabreena Merchant Stars on display in Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS — Of course, it was Bridget Carleton from the left with a dagger of a 3 that gave the Lynx the cushion they needed against the Phoenix Mercury and blew the roof off the Target Center. Minnesota won 102-95, opening its 2024 playoff run with the kind of game that felt tense, tone-setting and thrilling. The opening day of the 2024 WNBA playoffs on Sunday was a consistent drumbeat reminder: It’s WNBA playoff time.
The stakes have been raised. And when the stakes go up, so too do players’ games. Advertisement Before Carleton could get to her own heroic moment against the surging Mercury, who looked all but out of the arena midway through the first half, it was Napheesa Collier’s time.
Collier, who finished second in MVP voting, had an MVP-like performance for the Lynx, putting up a career-high 38 points on 58 percent shooting. She added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. Collier was nearly perfect from the free throw line, going 13 of 14.
“That one missed free throw,” Collier joked, when reminded that she tied (instead of broke) Seimone Augustus’ franchise record for the most free throws made in a Lynx game. Collier’s performance, record-setting and record-tying in its own right, was another reminder of what the 2024 playoffs just might bring over the next few weeks. Despite how good she was, she nearly got overshadowed.
On the other end of the floor, Mercury point guard Natasha Cloud reminded everyone exactly why she has earned the nickname “Playoff Tash.” She has been a 43 percent 3-point shooter in playoff games in her career despite being just a 31 percent long-range shooter in the regular season. 30 PIECE FOR TASH.
pic.twitter.com/g0HUbZbkSK — Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 22, 2024 How does she so consistently do it? “I love playoff time.
You play a 40-game season. You work your ass off,” Cloud said. “This is what it’s all about.
All the offseason hours we put in, all the training camps, the ebbs and flows of the season, the injuries that we play through — this is all what it’s for. When these game lights come on in the playoffs, I’m extremely focused.” Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis was no different as the 5-foot-10 guard once again elevated to Playoff Tash and, after Collier’s impressive 23-point first half, put on a show of her own to make it a game late.
Cloud finished with 33 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, adding to the lore of her own playoff resume. It was Carleton, Collier and Cloud. Left and right, it seemed like players were showing their best in the most important games of the season.
If this is what Day 1 delivered, then just imagine what we might see in October. — Chantel Jennings (Photo of Leonie Fiebich and Courtney Williams : Evan Bernstein / Getty Images).
