Breanna Stewart unhappy with officiating after Game 2 OT loss: ‘It’s pretty frustrating’

Breanna Stewart expressed frustration over officiating after the New York Liberty fell behind 2-0 Wednesday night in the WNBA semifinals with an overtime loss to the Atlanta Dream.

At the end of overtime, New York was inbounding the ball and had its reset timeout remaining. The Liberty opted not to use it, however, and on their last possession passed to midcourt to Stewart. She threw the ball in desperation toward the hoop and missed.

After the game, she said she had asked officials if the Liberty had a reset timeout and was told they did not.

“This is not blaming the refs, but when I ask both refs if we have a reset timeout at the end and they tell us no, and then we leave the game with a reset timeout, it’s pretty frustrating,” Stewart said after the 101-98 defeat. “Yeah, OK, I kind of got a good look at the end, but would just love to have some clarity on that situation.”

Lead official Fatou Cissoko-Stephens disputed Stewart’s assessment and said Stewart was told the Liberty had a reset timeout.

“Stewart was standing behind referee (Kevin) Fahy when he confirmed with his (officiating) partner between (Angel) Reese’s penalty free throws that the Liberty did indeed have a reset (timeout) remaining,” Cissoko-Stephens told reporters after the game.

The Liberty filed an inquiry to the league to review the call, according to a source with knowledge of the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships.

Angel Reese made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left to seal the Dream’s victory. The series heads to New York on Friday for Game 3, when the Dream can advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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