To her delight, the 16,081 fans in the arena held off, but instead the tide of sound from the crowd notably rose when her name was announced. She got up from the bench, shook hands with guard Jaylyn Sherrod that resembled a well-known TikTok dance, gave Leonie Fiebich a quick hug and then waited for Natasha Cloud and Sabrina Ionescu‘s names to be called.
Sabally hadn’t played in two and a half weeks before officially returning to play at home against the Sky on Tuesday night for the first time since Sabally and the Liberty faced the Sky on the road early on this season. Sabally missed six games while dealing with some swelling in her right knee, the same one that she had surgery on in 2022 weeks after she was drafted.
She felt some discomfort during the team’s warmups prior to the Liberty’s May 24 game in Indiana, and as a result the team ruled her out. Sabally didn’t practice again until the Liberty were on the road preparing to face the Mystics on June 5.
Sabally told reporters on Monday June 9 that she had received a PRP injection to help manage the swelling of her knee. This is not the first time Liberty players have gone that route this season — Kennedy Burke got the same procedure done before training camp to make sure she could participate in a full camp this year. Burke felt like “she had a brand new knee” after the injection.
The decision for Sabally not to play from May 27 until Tuesday night also had to do with the fact that New York had four games in six days running from May 27 through June 1 without any practice days.
“It would have been really extreme just to really hop right into a game and test it out in a game where you really just didn’t have practices because we were playing every other day,” Sabally said. “So it also was that very specific stretch where it was really hard for me to reintegrate back into the game without practicing.”
The Liberty center values the collaboration that she has with head coach Sandy Brondello and the Liberty’s training staff. For Brondello, Sabally’s status was determined by making sure that Sabally was comfortable and confident before returning to play.
A week and a half following the Indiana game, Sabally was back in practice, but wasn’t a full participant until Sunday afternoon when the Liberty began practicing again following their June 5 road Commissioner’s Cup win against the Mystics.
But with Jonquel Jones out while still recovering from a minor ankle sprain that she sustained in that game against Mystics, Sabally got the start against a Sky team with two larger and physical post players in 6’3 Angel Reese and 6’7 Kamilla Cardoso.
“I think it’s unfortunate that it has to be a circumstance where [Jones] is out, you know,” wing Fiebich told reporters pregame. “So that’s a bummer, for sure. But for [Sabally] to be able to step up tonight and for the next games, it’s going to be huge for us. She adds something to the group that we don’t have in any other players. I’m super excited for her, just to see her grow and excited to be on the court with her, because I love playing with her.”
Both Fiebich and Brondello reminded reporters about the many benefits that the Liberty can take advantage of when Sabally is available and playing significant minutes. Sabally’s strength, speed, rebounding ability and her knack for handling physicality were all attributes they missed alongside their two other versatile posts in Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and hybrid post-wing Burke. Burke often struggled guarding bigger posts while taking the brunt of Sabally’s minutes.
“She’s just so quick in her rolls, and she draws a lot of attention in the zone. She also can shoot the ball from outside. You cannot leave her open. She’s so aggressive on the boards,” Fiebich said. “I feel like she’s really a force for us.”
Sabally’s performance reflected Fiebich’s evaluation immediately. She scored the Liberty’s first points of the game on a turnaround hook shot she made on Cardoso, a drive and score that with the Liberty’s updated floor spacing looked easy.
Sabally didn’t miss a shot, scored nine points, secured three rebounds, including an and-one putback and had an assist in 15 minutes of play. Sabally’s defensive awareness helped her team early. She pointed Ariel Atkins out to Sabrina Ionescu once Ionescu was screened by Cardoso. Sabally’s communication allowed for Ionescu to move quickly to contest and eventually block Atkins’ three-point shot. Having a couple of practices under her belt definitely helped Sabally shake off any rust she had.
“She looked great,” Brondello said. “It was great to have her back out there. I think we can just build on that. She’s always consistent. And every time she gets minutes, she’s just consistently great. She knows what she does and how she can help us.”
How much time do the Liberty have to build on that Sabally performance? That’s been a question in recent weeks since the team hasn’t made it clear when both Sabally and Fiebich are expected to report back to Germany for the EuroBasket qualifiers. While Brondello spoke about how the two might have to leave close to the Liberty’s next matchup this Saturday against the Fever, the exact date wasn’t previously confirmed.
Now there is less uncertainty. On Monday afternoon, the German Federation released a statement that Sabally had decided to withdraw from EuroBasket.
“After much consideration, I have made the difficult decision not to participate in EuroBasket this summer,” Sabally said in a translated version of her statement. I am disappointed to miss the tournament with my team and to not be able to represent Germany this year as I had planned. It is not easy for me, but with the rehab for my knee, the intensive EuroBasket schedule and the tight WNBA calendar, I have to prioritize my health with an eye on my long-term goals with the national team.”
Fiebich, however, left today for EuroBasket, a Liberty spokesperson confirmed to The Next. She will miss seven regular-season games at most and the Liberty will temporarily suspend her contract, a league source confirmed to The Next.
Fiebich is looking forward to playing in front of sold out crowds in Hamberg. “We are playing at home for the first time ever,” she told reporters on Tuesday night. “The gym, sold out and a lot of kids will be there, so just being part of that is something super special.”
The goal now for Sabally is to continue to build on her performance from Tuesday night at a critical moment in the season when the Liberty will need her size and strength to finish out their Commissioner’s Cup games strong against the Fever and then the Dream.
