As Angel Reese made her second free throw in overtime to make the score 101-98 in favor of the Atlanta Dream, the broadcaster could be heard saying, “New York has a reset. They don’t use it. Why don’t they use it?” This question was on everyone’s mind, as the reset could have given the Liberty an opportunity to equalize the series score. Instead, New York went down 2-0. Disputed accounts have since emerged surrounding the incident, with an ESPN clip adding more to the discussion.
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The Athletic’s Annie Costabile took to X to post about the footage, which aired on ESPN’s NBA Today. The footage captures part of an exchange between Liberty forward Breanna Stewart and referee Kevin Fahy. Stewart can be heard asking Fahy, “Do we have a reset?” as Reese geared up to shoot her first FT.
Under WNBA rules: “A Reset timeout is a stoppage of play requested by a team that allows it to advance the ball and make substitutions but not huddle. Each team is entitled to one Reset in the final two minutes of the fourth period and one in the final two minutes of any overtime period.”
In her postgame comments, Stewart said Fahy told her he would check whether New York had a reset timeout. According to Stewart, Fahy then consulted crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens, after which he told Stewart that no reset remained.
“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.“Yeah, OK, I kind of got a good look at the end, but would just love to have some clarity on that situation.”
Liberty coach Chris DeMarco, too, aligned with his players’ accounts: “Yeah, same thing. They just said we didn’t have it. Multiple staff members [were told]. It is what it is. We’ve got to demand more. But it is what it is.” Meanwhile, Sabrina Ionescu said one official indicated that New York had a reset while another shook their head no. Even Dream coach Karl Smesko said he was aware that the Liberty had a timeout remaining.
However, the WNBA’s postgame pool report, which included comments from crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens, offered a conflicting account.
“Stewart was standing behind referee Fahy when he confirmed with his partner between Reese’s penalty free throws that New York did indeed have a reset timeout remaining,” Cissoko-Stephens claimed, adding that no communication took place between the officials and anyone from the team.
The disagreement matters because just 4.3 seconds remained in overtime after Reese’s free throws. With the Dream leading by just three points, a reset timeout would have given the Liberty some breathing room, allowing them to start play from near midcourt. Instead, New York inbounded from under its own basket and tried to move the ball upcourt.
After the pass toward Marine Johannès was tipped, Stewart ended up with the ball and attempted a desperate three-pointer from long range. To the horror of Liberty fans, she missed, as Atlanta took Game 2, making the series score 2-0, a hole no team has climbed out of in WNBA history.
Stewart further shared that Bethany Donaphin, the WNBA’s head of league operations, reached out to her via text following the game, though she did not disclose the contents of their exchange. The Liberty also submitted an inquiry to the league, a routine process that allows the WNBA to examine in-game incidents. The league is now reviewing the incident.
Game 3 shifts to Barclays Center on Friday, where the Liberty face a must-win matchup against Atlanta. Another loss would eliminate New York from the playoffs and send the Dream to the WNBA Finals with a three-game sweep.