Breanna Stewart on Sunday had trapped Allisha Gray near the sideline with her 7-foot-1 wing span. An off-balance and visibly flustered Gray looked for someone to pass the ball to before gravity finally won and Gray stepped out of bounds.
Gray bounced the ball in frustration and was whistled for a technical as the Barclays Center crowd jumped to its feet.
The fan screams were like the first rainfall after a drought, and the Liberty soaked it all up.
The Libs may have looked lethargic and disjointed in the first half and trailed by 11 at the half.
But Stewart — with her rebounding, defense and scoring — and Leonie Fiebich — with her timely 3s and aggressive shot hunting — helped lead a third-quarter resurgence for the 79-72 win.
Breanna Stewart defends Allisha Gray during the Liberty-Dream game on July 13, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
“We’re trying to get as many wins as we can until we get [Jonquel Jones] back,” Sabrina Ionescu said with a toothy grin. “Every one of these wins is super important.”
They couldn’t have done it without Fiebich.
The German wing — who coaches, players and fans had been begging to shoot more — let it rip against the Dream.
In the third quarter, Fiebich drained back-to-back shots from behind the arc to give the Libs their first lead since the opening quarter.
In a game where Ionescu’s shots weren’t falling, Fiebich finished with a regular-season career-high 21 points on wildly efficient 8-of-9 shooting (4-for-5 from deep.) She also had four rebounds and four assists.
Stewart, who had played every position from point guard to center, notched her fourth double-double this season with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Leonie Fiebich looks on during the Liberty-Dream game on July 13, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
How the Liberty played in the second half was how they should’ve played all game. They communicated on defense, attacking rebounds and making shots.
It was a complete 180 from the way the Liberty had played for most of the first half.
“I wasn’t happy for the first half at all. We had four days off and we didn’t bring any kind of grit or energy,” coach Sandy Brondello said. “So it was like a reset for the second half. … When we have to have discipline with executing the scout to the best of our ability, but we’re relentless. This is a group that stays together. We’re going to weather the storm. I don’t get too high or too low. At halftime, I said, ‘We’re winning this game.’ But we know what we can control so just go out and do that.”
The Dream are a tough matchup for any team given their verticality inside with Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner.
It’s even more challenging for the Liberty, who are still without Jones.
The Dream cooked the Liberty in the paint the last time they met, scoring 62 points.
Breanna Stewart dribbles during the Liberty-Dream game on July 13, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
But Nyara Sabally, Isabelle Harrison and Stewart made a point to not let that history repeat itself Sunday.
“We know they’re going to get paint touches and their looks, but we just have to make it as difficult as we can,” said Harrison, who had nine points and six rebounds. “So when we did our review, we talked about meeting them early and just being physical. … We just wanted to have a more aggressive mindset on the bigs.”
It worked.
Griner had 10 points on 13 shots and Jones scored eight points. The Liberty outscored the Dream in the paint 38-32.
The Liberty improved to 14-6 this season and have one more game — against Caitlin Clark’s Fever on Wednesday — before the All-Star break.