MONTREAL — The Liberty mounted a furious second-half comeback for the second consecutive day, yet the result was the same.
The chaotic finish to Sunday’s game, which included a shoe being thrown, a subsequent ejection and what Liberty coach Chris DeMarco called “atrocious” and “pathetic” officiating, ended with New York falling to the Toronto Tempo 93-91 at Bell Centre as part of the WNBA’s celebration of its first Canadian franchise.
DeMarco, as impassioned as ever, went on a fiery rant regarding the late-game officiating.
It started when he was asked about Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s ejection with 1:48 left in regulation.
Laney-Hamilton told The Post she intended to throw Jonquel Jones’ shoe back to her teammate but instead accidentally hit the backside of Tempo guard Marina Mabrey.
“I know just by the way that things were going throughout the game that it can look a certain way,” Laney-Hamilton said. “But that’s just not something that I would personally do … especially in a moment like that where the game is on the line.”
Regardless of her intent, she received her second technical foul and was tossed.
DeMarco said Laney-Hamilton’s ejection and the subsequent Tempo free throw changed the game’s momentum as the Liberty overcame a 20-point deficit.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” DeMarco said. “We had all the momentum in the world. Shoe hit somebody, ejected, free throws … I’ve never seen one of the best players to ever play in this league attack the rim and get fouled and absolutely no call, and we’re just gonna play. Atrocious. Pathetic. It was pathetic.”
DeMarco doubled down a moment later when asked for additional clarity on Laney-Hamilton’s ejection.
“We’re just making stuff up, I have no idea,” he said. “You’re asking the wrong person. I just know it was an atrocious end of that game from officials.”
Mabrey sank the free throw to give the Tempo a two-point lead.
On the other end of the floor, Sabrina Ionescu fed Breanna Stewart for the game-tying bucket with 1:30 left.
Moments later, Pauline Astier corralled a defensive rebound. She lost the ball after colliding with Maria Conde, and the ball bounced out of bounds. The closest official said it was Liberty ball. Crew chief Kevin Fahy, who was on the opposite sideline, overturned the call and awarded possession to Toronto.
The ball appeared to clip the back of Astier’s foot before bouncing out of bounds. But DeMarco had a different vantage point.
“I’ve also never seen a ref make such an atrocious call when he’s on the other side of the floor,” he said. “The ball is clearly off the defender and comes over and overturns and gives the ball back to Tempo again.”
Nyara Sabally, whom the Tempo plucked from the Liberty in the expansion draft, hit the go-ahead layup to seal the Tempo’s win.
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Stewart had a chance to tie the game with 8.6 seconds left, but her attempt was off the mark, and the Tempo secured the rebound.
DeMarco’s frustration came a day after he received a technical foul in Minnesota for barking at the refs after Jones was whistled for a foul.
Stewart thought the Liberty managed their emotions well in the past two games, despite things not going their way.
But DeMarco stood firm on his belief that his players too often get the short end of officiating.
“I haven’t seen anybody get fouled as much as JJ in this league,” he said. “I mean, she gets a rebound, clubbed all the time. Like again, Stewie gets to the rim — and I love my players. I love the game of basketball, I love the way we play. You’re not gonna see Stew stare down the refs, sit there and b**** about calls. You’re not going to see Sab over and over again … If they get fouled, they’re not going to fall every single time so they get a call. They’re playing the game the right way and they should be rewarded when they’re fouled, all right? Because I’ve seen a ton of basketball and there are players who are constantly hitting the ground. They don’t do that. They play the game the right way. It doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get rewarded, though.”
