By Noah Zimmerman
noah@queensledger.com
The New York Liberty became the first WNBA team to have a representative on every semifinalist in the FIBA Women’s World Cup, with players on team USA, France, Germany, and Spain.
Their lone American representative, Breanna Stewart, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player following the USA’s 97-79 win against France in the final.
The Liberty forward scored 22 points and pulled down 10 boards, leading the Americans on a second half charge to put distance between themselves and the French. Stewie averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in her six games played.
Next to Stewart on the “All-Star 5” was Leonie Fiebich, who had a phenomenal tournament with the hosts, Germany. Fiebich averaged 9.9 points per game with 8.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists. She was also a strong defensive presence, as Liberty fans are well aware of. Her semifinals performance was strong but not enough to make a difference against an extremely talented France team.
Providing valuable depth for the French was backcourt duo Marine Johannes and Pauline Astier. It was hard for either to have much of an impact, but they were able to find some moments to shine.
Johannes scored 13 in the 86-64 semifinal win, the third most on the team. Astier’s tournament-high was 12 in the group stage against Nigeria, also scoring 9 in their quarterfinal win over China.
Despite falling in the first knockout game, Chinese Center Han Xu showed off her scoring prowess. She averaged 18.8 points and 10.8 rebounds in her five games played, earning a spot on the tournament’s second team.
Another Liberty Center to impress was Raquel Carrera. She scored 10 in the opener vs Germany and 15 in Spain’s 3rd place win over the hosts.
Now the Liberty’s many FIBA World Cup participants are settling back in, with WNBA action resuming this weekend. New York will be on the road, taking on the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx on Friday night at 7:30pm. After a stop in Toronto to play the Tempo on Sunday, September 20, they finish the 2026 season with a pair of home games against the Atlanta Dream (Monday and Wednesday night at 8pm).
