Breanna Stewart Loses Cool with Rare Technical Foul

By the Editorial Team · Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Breanna Stewart received her first technical foul since 2017 during the New York Liberty's loss to the Atlanta Dream, stemming from her reaction to a missed foul call late in the fourth quarter. Despite the penalty and the defeat, Stewart continued her strong form post-FIBA World Cup, leading her team with 27 points and 14 rebounds and maintaining a high performance level since returning.

Breanna Stewart was assessed a technical foul Monday night during the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream, marking the first time she has received such a penalty since 2017. The incident occurred late in the fourth quarter of the Liberty’s 95-84 loss.

The sequence began when Stewart believed she had been fouled by Angel Reese on a shot attempt, but no call was made by the officials. Shortly afterward, Stewart committed a foul on Reese, which the referees did call. Frustrated by the initial no-call, Stewart responded by stomping and voicing her displeasure to the official, resulting in the technical foul.

Stewart addressed the situation after the game, attributing the technical foul to the missed call against Reese. She said, “She slapped the s--t out of my hand. So yeah, you gotta see that. Baseline ref, you gotta see that.” The technical foul came with about two minutes remaining in the game and widened the Dream’s lead to 11 points, eliminating a potential opportunity for the Liberty to narrow the gap.

Teammate Sabrina Ionescu expressed surprise that Stewart received the technical foul for her reaction. “If I wanted to see Stewie get a tech for the first time since 2017, I would have wanted something a little bit more animated than that because I think there’s a lot of players in the league that do that nightly and don’t get techs,” Ionescu said. She described Stewart as generally composed and professional in her interactions with officials, praising her usual approach: “She’s a soft-spoken killer. She’ll talk to them really nicely and she knows how to do it. She’s a pro; she does it the right way.”

Despite the incident and the team’s defeat, Stewart delivered an impressive performance, leading the Liberty with 27 points and 14 rebounds. The game continued a strong stretch for the player following her MVP recognition at the FIBA Women’s World Cup, where she helped Team USA secure its fifth consecutive gold medal. Since returning from Berlin, Stewart is averaging 26 points and 10.7 rebounds over three games.

Reflecting on her recent play, Stewart emphasized her focus and commitment. “I’m just really locked in. I just want to leave it all out on the court and do that on a nightly basis. And I think that making sure to set the tone for my team and really let them know what type of basketball we’re going to be playing for the next hopefully month and beyond,” she said.

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