The WNBA has officially launched an investigation into the wild ending of Game 2 between the New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream after Breanna Stewart accused officials of flat-out telling her squad they had zero timeouts left in overtime. This isn’t just about a missed call, it’s about what was said and who is now being put in a tough spot. The Liberty are staring down a brutal 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five series, and the drama surrounding this alleged interaction with the refs is absolutely boiling over.
That Missed Timeout Cost the Liberty Dearly
The Dream snatched a nail-biting 101-98 overtime victory in Game 2, but man, the way it ended is still making waves. With just 4.3 seconds left in the extra frame, Angel Reese hit two clutch free throws to put the Dream up by three points. What happened next is where everything went sideways. The Liberty actually *had* a reset timeout in their pocket, which felt huge, especially after they sent the game to overtime thanks to a brilliant after-timeout play that freed up Marine Fauthoux for a critical 3-pointer. You’d think they’d use that timeout, right? Nope. Head coach Chris DeMarco didn’t call it. Instead, they tried a long pass to Marine Johannès near midcourt, which got tipped. The ball somehow found its way to Stewart, but her desperation heave at the buzzer was nowhere close. Initially, it looked like a massive coaching blunder, but Stewart dropped a bomb in the postgame press conference, explaining exactly why no timeout was called.
Stewart vs. The Refs: A War of Words and Integrity
“This is not blaming the refs, but when I ask both refs if we have a reset timeout and they tell us ‘no,’ and then we leave the game with a reset timeout, it’s pretty frustrating,” Stewart vented after the game. She went on to detail the exchange, saying she asked official Kevin Fahy, “do we have a reset timeout?” Fahy went to check with crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens, who then told him “no.” Fahy then relayed that “no” to Stewart. But get this: crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens contradicted Stewart’s account in the pool report, claiming there was “no direct communication” between officials and the Liberty about timeouts. That’s a direct refutation of what Stewart said happened, and it’s clearly got her fired up. Ahead of Game 3, she told reporters, “You want to have respect between players and refs, and players and the league, and all these things. In order to have respect, you need to build trust. And building trust comes from being honest. And putting me in a position to question my integrity is really disappointing. I know who I am and what I stand for and what I heard. That’s that.” The WNBA stepping in with an investigation shows just how serious this situation is.
The Liberty are now down 2-0 in the series, and the historical odds are stacked against them. No team in WNBA history has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five matchup. They’ll try to keep their season alive in Game 3 at home on Friday. With all this controversy swirling, this is going to be one intense game.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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