(Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
The WNBA said Friday that its review of video and audio shows New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart asked referee Kevin Fahy about the team’s reset timeout in the closing seconds of overtime in Game 2 of the semifinal series against the Atlanta Dream.
The league released the statement about 20 minutes before Game 3 in New York, after the Liberty made an official inquiry about the sequence.
“As part of our standard process when a team makes an inquiry, we have reviewed multiple video angles and available audio, and spoken with those involved,” the statement said. “It is clear on video and audio that Breanna Stewart asked Referee Kevin Fahy about the reset timeout. At that moment, there were multiple overlapping conversations and non-verbal exchanges between the referees, game participants, and also Stewart with Liberty bench personnel, which led to a misunderstanding amongst the various parties. Our referees can certainly handle these interactions better and have been given that feedback. No further follow up is expected on the situation at this time.”
The statement did not address whether officials told Stewart the Liberty had the timeout available.
Conflicting Accounts After Game 2
The confusion came with 4.3 seconds left in overtime as Dream forward Angel Reese shot free throws with New York trailing by one. After Reese made both, the Liberty did not use the reset timeout, which would have allowed them to advance the ball to midcourt. Stewart missed a shot at the buzzer and Atlanta won 101-98 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Stewart said after the game that she asked Fahy whether the Liberty had a reset timeout, that he checked with crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens and that he then told her no, ESPN reported. In a pool report conducted nearly two hours after the game, Cissoko-Stephens said Stewart was standing behind Fahy when he confirmed with his partner that New York did have a reset timeout remaining, and that there was no communication between officials and anyone else on the team.
Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said multiple staff members were also told the team did not have the timeout. Cissoko-Stephens said timeouts are tracked by the scorer’s table and statistical staff, but teams are responsible for managing their own timeout usage. Calling a timeout a team does not have results in a technical foul.
Stewart Looks to Move On
Before Game 3, Stewart said she wanted to focus on the series.
“I really don’t want to talk much about this, my main focus is Game 3, but what I will say is you want to have respect between players and refs in order to have respect you need to build trust,” Stewart said, according to The Associated Press. “Building trust comes with being honest. Putting me in a position to question my integrity is really disappointing.”
Stewart said she received a text from Bethany Donaphin, the WNBA’s head of league operations, after Game 2.
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