Stewart Challenges Timeout Review Before Liberty Game 3

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart addressed the disputed overtime timeout situation involving her team before Game 3 against the Atlanta Dream at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, after the WNBA reviewed the incident and called it a misunderstanding.

According to Yahoo Sports, the Liberty filed an official inquiry after their 101-98 overtime loss in Game 2, when the team believed it did not have a reset timeout available during the final moments. The league reviewed video, audio and conversations with those involved.

The WNBA said its review found overlapping conversations between officials, players and bench personnel contributed to the confusion. The league also said officials received feedback on handling similar interactions more clearly.

"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. 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 WNBA said in a statement.

Stewart said she wanted to maintain trust between players and officials while explaining her view of the exchange. She said she believed she was placed in a difficult position after the conflicting accounts about whether the timeout was available.

"What I will say is, you want to have respect between players and refs, and players and the league, and all of these things. In order to have respect, you need to build trust. And building trust comes with being honest.

You know what I mean? And putting me in a position to question my integrity is really disappointing. And I know who I am and what I stand for, and what I heard, and that's that.

And I'm gonna continue to move on." Stewart said.

Stewart previously said she asked official Kevin Fahy about the reset timeout during Angel Reese's free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining. The pool report later stated head official Fatou Cissoko-Stephens said Stewart was told the timeout was available.

Sabrina Ionescu also discussed the confusion, saying she had asked about the timeout situation during the free throws and was uncertain after receiving different responses from officials.

"I take it on me," Ionescu said. "I should have kind of been more demonstrative maybe in the way that I stopped the game and it was just happening really fast at the free throw line. I was confused. Obviously, I didn't want to call the timeout in case it was a technical foul, so that was something I was cognizant of."

Liberty coach Chris DeMarco acknowledged the team tracks timeouts internally but said the staff could have reacted more forcefully during the sequence.

"We know the rules," DeMarco said. "We should have pushed harder, and it was just an unfortunate situation."

After the loss, Stewart asked DeMarco whether she or the coach should address the officiating issue publicly. DeMarco responded that the team wanted to focus on the next game.

"Am I the one saying it? Or you?" Stewart asked.

"It doesn't matter at this point, right?" DeMarco said.

DeMarco later defended Stewart's approach to the game while discussing her reputation and conduct on the court.

"I'll say this: Breanna Stewart is the model citizen for the game of basketball. When you're talking about the fact that she's not on the floor when she gets hit. When you're talking about she's not diving out of screens, we're not picking her up constantly.

She plays the game the right way. She always has. She always had. … What was it, her first technical in however long?

She's just exactly what you want out" DeMarco said.