Breanna Stewart picked up her first technical foul since 2017 late in the fourth quarter of a game she insists she should never have been penalized for at all. The Liberty forward said Angel Reese slapped her hand with no whistle from officials, and her reaction to the missed call is what actually drew the technical — a sequence that helped seal a 95-84 Atlanta Dream win over New York.
A No-Call Turns Into a Technical
Stewart believed she was fouled by Reese late in the fourth quarter, but officials called no foul on the Atlanta forward, according to the New York Post. Instead, officials called a foul on Stewart, and she was hit with a technical foul on top of it — her first since 2017. Stewart said afterward that the technical stemmed directly from the missed call, telling reporters that Reese slapped her hand on the play. Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu backed her up, saying Stewart's reaction did not warrant a technical foul.
The moment came at a pivotal point in the game. With about two minutes left, Stewart had a chance to cut New York's deficit from eight points to six. Instead, the sequence flipped the other way — Atlanta extended its lead from eight points to 11, and the Liberty never recovered, per the same seed reporting from the Post. Stewart finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds in the loss at Barclays Center on Monday.
Reese's History With Technical Fouls
The frustration around officiating isn't new for Reese this season. Just days earlier, the WNBA rescinded a technical foul the Atlanta forward picked up during a 101-83 loss to Portland, a call that had left her one technical away from an automatic one-game suspension and a $1,500 fine, according to ESPN. That technical had come after Reese became tangled with Portland guard Carla Leite while Leite tried to box her out. Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said afterward that, from his view, “it didn't look like something that was tech-worthy.” Reese still finished that game with 16 points and 16 rebounds, tying the WNBA single-season record with her 28th double-double.
Reese wasn't the only star to catch a break from league reviewers this season. Indiana's Caitlin Clark also had an eighth technical foul rescinded after a league review, sparing her an automatic suspension, per Yahoo Sports. WNBA analyst Sabreena Merchant noted that both Reese's and Clark's technicals were called in real time and later reversed, with both incidents carrying the threat of a suspension for a nationally televised game.
A Pattern Fans Have Noticed Before
Reese's run-ins with officials go back to her rookie season. In June 2024, she was ejected from a game against the Liberty after picking up two technical fouls following a brief interaction with official Charles Watson, as reported by The Guardian. The WNBA later rescinded the second of those two technicals. That game also featured a big night from Stewart, who scored a season-high 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Liberty. Coverage of Reese's technical-foul history this season has described broader frustration among players, coaches, and fans over inconsistent officiating, according to HITC.
Stewart's Bigger Picture
The technical foul came amid a strong individual stretch for Stewart, who has averaged 26 points and 10.7 rebounds over three games since returning from Berlin, where Team USA won its fifth consecutive FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup gold medal and Stewart was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Despite the loss to Atlanta, Stewart said she wants to set the tone for the Liberty's basketball over the next month and beyond. The Dream, for their part, got a late boost from Reese, who made a clutch steal on Stewart to help seal Atlanta's victory, according to a WNBA on NBC and Peacock social post cited by the Post.
