First-year Liberty coach Chris DeMarco used the words “atrocious” and “pathetic.”
He wasn’t describing the performance of his players following their third straight loss and seventh in nine games Sunday afternoon in Toronto.
Instead, DeMarco finally decided to let the officials have it after weeks of biting his tongue at press conferences, either to avoid a fine from the league or to keep his players from blaming the refs.
This time, he said everything he wanted to, and perhaps a bit more.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” DeMarco fumed after a bizarre technical foul on Betnijah Laney-Hamilton for tossing Jonquel Jones’ sneaker helped cost New York a 93-91 decision to the expansion Tempo.
“We had all the momentum in the world,” he added. “A shoe hit somebody. Ejected, free throws. I’ve also never seen a ref make such an atrocious call when he’s on the other side of the floor.”
After rallying back from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Liberty (13-11) appeared ready to end their ongoing slide.
Breanna Stewart hit a pair of free throws to draw New York within one with under two minutes remaining before Jones’ sneaker flew off and Laney-Hamilton picked it up and tried to heave it back toward her.
Only Toronto’s Marina Mabrey got in the way.
The shoe bounded off Mabrey and Laney-Hamilton was called for throwing a “projectile”. The ensuing review and technical foul caused her ejection and resulted in a made free throw for the Toronto star.
Sabrina Ionescu found Stewart for a running layup to knot the contest at 91-91, but former Liberty center Nyara Sabally scored what proved to be the winning bucket for the Tempo (10-13) with 52.5 ticks remaining.
Ionescu misfired on a 29-footer and Stewart was off on a short jumper before the buzzer, leaving New York to lament its latest narrow defeat.
The one that finally got DeMarco fired up.
“I’ve never seen one of the best players to ever play in this league (Stewart) attack the room, and get fouled, and absolutely no problem, we’re just gonna play,” he fumed. “Atrocious. Pathetic. It was pathetic.”
Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton found themselves in the middle of a massive shoe-tossing controversy in Toronto. Photo: Brandon Todd/New York Liberty
The Liberty suffered a 90-85 loss in Minnesota just over 24 hours earlier, another game in which they nearly overcame a double-digit deficit.
This one had to sting more, considering that former Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was roaming the other bench and was the beneficiary of the “Shoe-gate” controversy.
“We hung in there and found a way to win,” the only coach ever to lead New York to a WNBA title gushed. “So proud of the group. We deserve it. We’ve been in so many games, so it’s nice for us to get a win.”
DeMarco felt the opposite, watching his team lose for the fifth time in the last seven contests after chasing a team down from at least 15 points behind.
“She’s trying to get the shoe back to JJ, not to hit somebody,” he went on. “I don’t know, I think it was just making stuff up, I have no idea. You’re asking the wrong person. I just know it’s just an atrocious, atrocious end of that game.”
Even Mabrey, who finished with a game-high 30 points, wasn’t accusing Laney-Hamilton of anything malicious.
“I had to take a couple breaths,” she said of the unexpected encounter with the shoe. “But I think she was really just trying to get the shoe back to JJ. But I’ll take the free throw.”
Ionescu scored a season-high 28 points, Stewart added 22 and Jones finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for New York, which has dropped to seventh in the WNBA standings after being the preseason pick to win Title II this year.
DeMarco’s tirade aside, the Liberty are in soul-searching mode heading into the final three games prior to the All-Star break.
“I mean, (we have to) try to do whatever we can to win,” Ionescu noted.
Stewart had a much briefer response when asked what it would take for the Liberty to stop falling into large deficits going forward.
“I don’t know,” she deadpanned.
The Liberty will try to end their funk in Dallas on Thursday night while avenging an 88-77 loss to the Wings at Barclays Center last Tuesday.
Tip-off is slated for 9 p.m.
The game will air exclusively on Prime Video.
Former Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was all smiles after her expansion Toronto Tempo pulled out a narrow victory Sunday. Photo: Graham Hughes/AP
GIVE ME LIBERTY: Ionescu appears to be hitting her stride despite New York’s skid. The four-time All-Star guard has at least 14 points and five assists in each of her last four appearances. … Stewart has recorded at least one steal or one block in 19 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the WNBA this season. … Jones has posted a double-double in four straight contests, the longest run she’s had since 2023. … Rookie guard Pauline Astier put up 14 points and matched her career best with three steals. … After visiting Dallas, the Liberty will end this thus-far fruitless four-game trip in Indiana on Saturday.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
