Breanna Stewart and WNBA refs at odds amid reset timeout controversy in Liberty's loss to Dream

With 4.3 seconds to game in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals, the New York Liberty -- according to ESPN's scorebug -- had a reset timeout they could have used to advance the ball and have a genuine shot to tie a back-and-forth game against the Atlanta Dream .

Down three, the Liberty chose not to call this timeout, which left Stewart to heave a Hail Mary toward the Dream basket. The shot never had a chance.

The big story coming out of the Liberty's 101-98 overtime loss to the Dream at State Farm Arena on Wednesday centers on whether New York actually did have a chance to move the ball up for a sideline out-of-bounds play.

Stewart and Liberty coach Chris DeMarco were adamant postgame that the refereeing crew told them New York was out of reset timeouts . So Stewart was pretty surprised when, as she told reporters, she discovered there was indeed one reset timeout remaining.

"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 the reset timeout, it's pretty frustrating," Stewart said.

Stewart was brilliant on Wednesday. It's no wonder the loss stings more painfully for her. She scored 25 points in the first half. In all, she scored 35 points, hauled in 11 rebounds and dished out six assists. It was one of the finest postseason performances in a decorated career that has glittered with huge displays on big stages.

Now down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, the Liberty has no margin for error. But according to the referees' pool report early Thursday morning, New York messed up at the end of Game 2.

The officiating crew contends the Liberty did have one more reset timeout: the same reset timeout it was awarded when overtime began, alongside two standard team timeouts.

"Stewart was standing behind Referee (Kevin) Fahy when he confirmed with his partner, between (Angel) Reese's penalty free throws, that New York did indeed have a reset timeout remaining," crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens said.

The natural conclusion to draw is that someone here is lying.

The referees maintain New York had a reset timeout it consciously chose not to use. Stewart and DeMarco claim they were told explicitly that there was no reset timeout, that the ESPN scorebug was not to be believed.

The controversy can be interpreted as an embittered response from the Liberty to a game they should have won. Marine Fauthoux, a sparingly-used rookie, scored a career-high 20 points and drilled four 3-pointers -- including the one that took the game to overtime. New York shot 55 percent from the field, and a few breaks the other way would have seen this series all tied up.

But just as the referees did not compel Fauthoux to have a career night, the referees didn't ask the Liberty to miss seven free throws, nor to turn the ball over 16 times. They didn't ask Sabrina Ionescu to send a hook pass into the crowd on New York's penultimate overtime possession.

There are plenty of legitimate criticisms over the state of WNBA officiating. But the Liberty coaching staff -- helmed by the first-year coach DeMarco -- was responsible for keeping track of how many timeouts were left and clearly communicating that information to Stewart and her teammates.

The communication breakdown could well cost the Liberty a chance to play in the WNBA Finals for the third time in four seasons.