Germany Survives Liberty Friendly Fire in Olympic Debut

Despite an unfortunate incident involving two New York Liberty depth stars, Germany took down Belgium in its Olympic Games debut.

Oct 11, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; New York Liberty forward Nyara Sabally (8) waits for the Las Vegas Aces to shoot a free throw in the second half during game two of the 2023 WNBA Finals at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks to a pair of New York Liberty depth stars, Germany's women's national basketball team got off to a perfect start in its maiden Olympic voyage.

Despite an incident of friendly fire that forced the latter out of the game, Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally each came up big in an 83-69 victory over Belgium on Monday, a triumph that opened Group C play in the women's basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics on Monday.

Sabally left the affair in the penultimate minute of the third period, taking Fiebich's inadvertant shoulder to her chin while passing her on a handoff. As Fiebich checked on her, Sabally clutched her jaw and was tended to by a trainer.

Sabally didn't return to the floor, but the win was mostly assured from that point forward: Germany (1-0) was up by 18 by the end of the third and kept pace well enough to render a 27-point tally from the Belgians mostly null. The Germans are partaking in their first Olympics since the program joined FIBA in 1954.

Despite her early exit, Sabally was tied with Fiebich as Germany's second-leading scorer behind only her sister Satou (Dallas). The metropolitan duo scored the first six points in Germany's Olympic basketball history, with Sabally tipping things off with a successful and-one. They hit their first seven shots en route to building a 46-25 lead at the intermission.

There was no immediate update on Sabally's status after the game, but Germany would no doubt benefit from her presence ... as would the Liberty. Sabally's young career has been frequently interrupted by injuries including a back issue that sidelined her a month earlier this WNBA season.

From there, Germany never trailed, carrying on a theme of upsets after Nigeria upset Australia in the opener of Monday's quartet.

Prior to the 27-point outburst the final period, Belgium (0-1) failed to reach 20 in either of the first three. The Belgians stand as a trendy pick for a medal after taking the mighty United States to the brink in a qualifying tournament in February. Emma Meeseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP, led all scorers with 25 in defeat.

The Germans will look to keep their perfect Olympic mark alive on Thursday when they face the defending bronze medalists from Japan (5 a.m. ET, Peacock).

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