Leonie Fiebich delivers gutsy shot Liberty needed in critical Game 2 moment to seal win over Lynx

Outside the 3-point line, Leonie Fiebich paused for a moment.She looked around.

When Lynx guard Courtney Williams dribbled off her foot with just over 90 seconds remaining and the Liberty up by six, the ball rolled — and kept rolling — across the mid-court line until Fiebich picked it up.And even with Breanna Stewart cutting toward the basket, even with Fiebich not needing to rush into a shot given how quickly a late lead unraveled just two days earlier, she went for one anyway.Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, from her perch on the sideline, saw Stewart cutting.

Then, she realized Fiebich was elevating.It was a “huge” shot, guard Courtney Vandersloot said.

“Gutsy,” she added.And when it fell through the net, the Liberty, for the first time this series, had a true dagger.Up until that point, Game 2 of the WNBA Finals had unfolded similarly to Game 1 for the Liberty.

They built a 17-point lead in the first half.They watched the Lynx slowly and slowly — and, at some points, rather quickly — chip away until it reached two points in the fourth quarter and the Liberty season veered toward a crossroads.

But Fiebich’s shot provided the final counterpunch during their 80-66 win Sunday in front of a record 18,046 at Barclays Center to even the Finals at one as the series shifts to Minnesota.The Liberty escaped by using the blueprint that worked throughout the season and helped them arrive at this juncture to begin with.They held Lynx star Napheesa Collier, on pace to have the highest-scoring postseason in league history, to just 16 points.

A balanced offense — led by Sabrina Ionescu in the opening quarter, then Breanna Stewart (21 points) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (20) the rest of the game — provided just enough of a cushion and just enough separation.“If we’re not playing the right way and doing the right things, then that can turn fast,” Vandersloot said, “so we’re obviously just … knowing that if we do the right things, we’re gonna...