Liberty confident they are continuing to shore up defense

The sentiment immediately after the Liberty’s 109-102 win against the Indiana Fever on Saturday was that New York had a strong defensive showing.

That might read like a typo.

A team surrendered 102 points and still felt good about its defensive performance?

Three days later, after reviewing the film, New York remains steadfast in believing its defense has made real strides after facing the league’s best offense for the second time this month.

Breanna Stewart compared the Liberty’s most recent win with their Aug. 11 loss in Indiana.

“The step-in-the-right-direction things were just our communication,” Stewart said after Tuesday’s practice. “We were able to kind of finish possession. Yeah, they scored 100 still, but I don’t know, I felt good that for the most part we limited them to one shot and were able to get in transition.”

Stewart isn’t the only one who feels this way.

Jonquel Jones and Marine Fauthoux also believe the team’s defense is trending in the right direction after a rocky few weeks.

Of course, it helps that Leonie Fiebich, the team’s best perimeter defender, is finally back in the mix after missing 16 consecutive games with a left foot injury.

Sabrina Ionescu defends Caitlin Clark during the Liberty’s win over the Fever on Aug. 22, 2026 at Barclays Center. John Jones-Imagn Images

But Fauthoux also believes there’s more to it. She credited the team’s familiarity with one another and better understanding of schemes and tendencies for contributing to the defensive improvements.

“The chemistry between us is better on the court,” Fauthoux said. “It’s more we act together now, and everybody is on the same page.”

Yet, there’s still plenty of room for growth.

Jonquel Jones defends against Aliyah Boston during the Liberty’s win over the Fever on Aug. 22, 2026. Michelle Farsi / New York Post

Jones was reminded of that as she watched the Golden State Valkyries beat the Minnesota Lynx on Monday.

Most of that game was a rock fight between the league’s top two defenses. Neither team eclipsed 50 points until late in the third quarter. The Valkyries, who come to Brooklyn on Thursday, ultimately won 80-66.

Jones thought Monday’s marquee matchup was a defensive master class.

“The way that they rotate, it’s just — and I’ve said this before — you can see everything is just on a string,” Jones said of the Lynx and Valkyries. “One person goes out to help, the next person steps in. Person on the weak side falls, it’s just — it’s systemic, it’s consistent and that’s why they are two of the better defensive teams in the league and when we look at those games, we can learn a lot from them and their rotations and how it doesn’t stop until the possession is won.”

The next challenge for the Liberty defense?

“I think we still can make teams feel a little bit more uncomfortable out there,” Jones said. “And I feel like we’re understanding our schemes right now in terms of what we want to do and being on the same page, but I think our next step is making people feel uncomfortable when we play against them.”