When the Liberty performance staff greenlit Leonie Fiebich’s return, the starting lineup inevitably had to change.
Rebecca Allen was the odd woman out. After a month as a starter, she shifted back to the bench for Saturday’s win against the Indiana Fever.
In her 11th and final season, Allen knows this is how it goes.
“It just carries on as normal,” Allen said before Thursday’s 79-60 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. “It’s just starting the game at a different point.”
She also sees the bigger picture and understands what Fiebich brings.
“I mean, having Leo back is such a luxury for all of us,” Allen said. “You’ve got this length, this defensive, you know, she goes on all the best players as well defensively but offensively, we saw such a great game, especially the last one, so I think, I mean, there’s only good things having her back in the lineup. My role changes a little bit, but still my mindset doesn’t.”
Feibich scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting in 32 minutes in her second game back Thursday. Allen had five points on 2-of-6 shooting in 12 minutes.
When Fiebich went down with a left foot injury in early July, coach Chris DeMarco had no choice but to tinker with the starting lineup that also included Sabrina Ionescu, Pauline Astier, Breanna Stewart and Jones.
Initially, DeMarco plugged Rebekah Gardner into the starting lineup.
After back-to-back losses, he decided to go big and start Han Xu alongside Stewart and Jones.
After another loss, he went with Marine Johannès.
None of it worked.
On a four-game losing streak, DeMarco turned to Allen.
Up to that point, Allen had sparingly cracked the rotation. Some of that was because she gradually eased into the season after missing most of training camp as she worked her way back from an undisclosed injury.
Allen appeared in only 10 of the Liberty’s first 25 games and logged the second-fewest minutes among players on the 12-player roster.
But Allen’s start resulted in a win. And then another. And then another.
DeMarco stuck with it, keeping Allen in the starting lineup for 12 consecutive games. New York went 9-3 during that stretch.
The five-player starting lineup featuring Allen was the Liberty’s best five-player grouping during that span, posting a net rating of plus-9.5.
Allen found her flow too.
“That was sort of obvious to see,” she said. “You sort of go those extended minutes, you can feel the ball a little bit more and it was good for myself and my confidence, too.”
Allen averaged nine points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from deep.
When the Liberty performance staff greenlit Leonie Fiebich’s return, the starting lineup inevitably had to change.
Rebecca Allen was the odd woman out. After a month as a starter, she shifted back to the bench for Saturday’s win against the Indiana Fever.
In her 11th and final season, Allen knows this is how it goes.
“It just carries on as normal,” Allen said before Thursday’s 79-60 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. “It’s just starting the game at a different point.”
She also sees the bigger picture and understands what Fiebich brings.
“I mean having Leo back is such a luxury for all of us,” Allen continued. “You’ve got this length, this defensive, you know, she goes on all the best players as well defensively but offensively, we saw such a great game especially the last one, so I think I mean there’s only good things having her back in the lineup. My role changes a little bit, but still my mindset doesn’t.”
When Fiebich went down with a left foot injury in early July, DeMarco had no choice but to tinker with the starting lineup that also included Sabrina Ionescu, Pauline Astier, Breanna Stewart and Jones.
Initially, DeMarco plugged Rebekah Gardner into the starting lineup.
Liberty’s 79-60 loss to the Valkyries on Aug. 27, 2026 at Barclays Center. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After back-to-back losses, he decided to go big and start Han Xu alongside Stewart and Jones.
After another loss, he went with Marine Johannès.
None of it worked.
On a four-game losing streak, DeMarco turned to Allen.
Up to that point, Allen had sparingly cracked the rotation. Some of that was because she gradually eased into the season after missing most of training camp as she worked her way back from an undisclosed injury.
Allen appeared in only 10 of the Liberty’s first 25 games and logged second-fewest minutes among players on the 12-woman roster.
But Allen’s start resulted in a win. And then another. And then another.
DeMarco stuck with it, keeping Allen in the starting lineup for 12 consecutive games. New York went 9-3 during that stretch.
The five-player starting lineup featuring Allen was the Liberty best five-player grouping during that span, posting a net rating of plus-9.5.
2026, at Barclays Center. NBAE via Getty Images
Allen found her flow, too.
“That was sort of obvious to see,” she said. “You sort of go those extended minutes, you can feel the ball a little bit more and it was good for myself and my confidence, too.”
Allen averaged nine points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from deep.
