Fiebich and Sabally are the Liberty\u2019s most versatile wing defenders, who often take on the toughest perimeter assignments. Without them, there\u2019s been a noticeable drop-off whenever the Liberty face a team with a dynamic backcourt scorer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not one player who alone can replace the defensive versatility missing with Fiebich and Sabally out of action.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving those two out is a big loss in terms of the size in particular,\u201d Rebecca Allen said Monday. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s never just one 1-on-1 matchup\u2026 it has to be a team effort because ultimately, if you\u2019re playing a game of just one-on-one, the whole game is going to be really damn hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Allen emphasized that slowing those guards requires help at every level of the defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Sydney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/user-expressly-acknowledges-agrees-downloading-135225823.jpg\")
Sydney Taylor shoots during the Liberty-Sky game on July 22, 2026 NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about always being like, yes, you got your matchup, you know their strengths, their weaknesses, but it\u2019s also about your teammates being there to help because everyone\u2019s going to make some mistakes,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving that low man defensively in terms of the size (in Jonquel Jones)\u2026 and having you know your guards next to you in the gaps and helping. So, I think that\u2019s the big mindset too is it\u2019s not just one person who\u2019s shutting down one of the main players. I think it\u2019s a collective effort.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s easier said than done when two of the team\u2019s longest, most switchable defenders aren\u2019t available and there\u2019s no timeline for when they might return as the Liberty open up the next chapter of their season Tuesday against the Sparks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiebich, who\u2019s been out for more than three weeks with a left foot injury, joined the team in Los Angeles but did an individual workout Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sabally didn\u2019t make the trip, and the Liberty have been vague about where she\u2019s at in her return from a concussion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adding a wrinkle to this, too, is that Betnijah Laney-Hamilton hasn\u2019t played in any of the last three games, despite being available.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her benching has also fueled speculation that she could be a trade candidate by the Aug. 2 deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Laney-Hamilton isn\u2019t the same player she was prior to the injury, but her fluctuating playing time \u2014 or in the case of late not having any opportunity at all \u2014 has made it hard for her to establish herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Laney-Hamilton being seemingly unplayable at the moment has left New York with fewer options to throw at explosive opposing guards. Whether that changes in the next few weeks could evolve into a problem general manager Jonathan Kolb may have to address with a midseason trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regardless, the Liberty\u2019s defensive approach changes depending on the opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt just depends on the matchup,\u201d DeMarco said. \u201cWith Taylor especially, like you could see Bec Allen early was like contesting those shots\u2026 Then you\u2019re going to bring a second defender, and you\u2019re going to put two on the ball to get out of her hands, and then who\u2019s around here? You have to worry about do they have enough shooting? Like they\u2019re going to put a small on their big, whatever it is. So sort of have to build your game plan for what Plan B might be if a player like that gets going.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Liberty developmental player Marine Fauthoux was among the 14 players picked by the French women\u2019s team brass to participate in a camp leading up to the 2026 World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Camp is scheduled to open Aug. 19 and will include several friendly matches against Italy and China.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Liberty play in Chicago Aug. 18 and have three games scheduled after that before the World Cup break that they could be without Fauthoux, who\u2019s averaging six points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.7 minutes across New York\u2019s past two games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marine Johann\u00e9s was a full participant after not playing in last week\u2019s win against the Chicago Sky with a left ankle injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe looked good today,\u201d DeMarco said. \u201cShe\u2019s closer to playing tomorrow, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Liberty have spent this season experimenting with different lineups and searching for answers.\u00a0 With…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788953,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[436,99,434],"class_list":["post-788952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}