The New York Liberty faced their third straight loss of the season on Monday. The Portland Fire team won the game despite entering the final period with a big deficit. During the post-game presser, Liberty star Breanna Stewart expressed her frustration with how the Liberty games have been officiated. 

"It's really frustrating. I feel like when we're the aggressors, we get fouls called on us,” Stewart told reporters. “When other teams are aggressors, it's play on. Fine, fair - but the whistle needs to go both ways."

This was also Liberty’s third straight loss in front of their home crowd. Portland trailed by 8 points as it entered the final period of ‌regulation. In the next 10 minutes, their offense caught fire and outscored them by 32-17 to seal the 81-74 win.

After the game, Stewart expressed her frustration with how frequently the game officials made calls against the Liberty, particularly in the fourth quarter.

In the last quarter, the Liberty were called for four fouls. Interestingly, referees called three of those four fouls with a minute remaining on the clock, and the last two calls with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Moreover, the Liberty were called for fewer fouls than the Fire. They were called for 20 fouls in 40 minutes. On the other hand, the Fire were called for 22.

The Liberty played without Sabrina Ionescu, who missed the contest due to left foot injury management. Satou Sabally also played just four minutes in the game before exiting with illness.

But this is certainly a shocking start for a team that has been one of the best in the last few years with an elite roster.

Breanna Stewart addresses Liberty’s poor start to the 2026 season

After seven games in the 2026 season, the New York Liberty holds a 3-4 record. They are currently the bottom five teams in the league and the bottom three in the East.

While Stewart didn’t expect the Liberty to have instant success with the new coach, Chris DeMarco, a poor start of this nature wasn’t on her mind.

"No, definitely not," said Stewart. "But it's a learning experience for everyone. My message to the players in the locker room is like, 'Nobody expected this.' Not to say we thought it was going to be easy, because we definitely didn't. But it's going to take time. There's going to be highs and lows.”

Teams are set to play 44 games this season, which gives New York some time to make improvements and get the season under control.

"While it seems we're in the lows right now, eventually we'll get to a place where everybody's really confident and comfortable with what's going on. I'm happy it's happening early [in the season] and not late,” Stewart added.

The Liberty team has also been struggling with health at the start of the season. Once they get a fully healthy roster, they will expect better results. 

Do you think the Liberty can become a title contender, or are they already headed for a failed season? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi