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Katie Barnes, ESPN.com
NEW YORK — It was a historic Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center for rookie Leonie Fiebich and veteran Courtney Vandersloot.
Fiebich had a career-high 21 points, pacing the Liberty in their 83-69 win over the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Vandersloot, meanwhile, passed Sue Bird to become the WNBA’s all-time playoff assist leader.
Vandersloot broke Bird’s record with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter. After a steal, she lobbed the ball ahead to a streaking Breanna Stewart, who finished at the rim. It was the 365th playoff assist for Vandersloot. Bird was sitting courtside.
“It’s tough to chase Sue,” Vandersloot said. “She’s a winner, that’s why she has a lot of playoff assists. For her to be in the building, that’s pretty special.”
“The way that [Vandersloot] can continue to set people up in many different ways, I’ve been a [beneficiary] of that,” said Stewart, who also played six seasons with Bird in Seattle. “She’s one of the best to ever do it.”
Vandersloot finished the game with four points and three assists, the exact number she needed to pass Bird. She came off the…
