New York Liberty guard/forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was ejected during an eventual loss to the Toronto Tempo after she hit guard Marina Mabrey with a shoe.
The incident happened with 1:48 remaining in the 93-91 setback Sunday in Montreal. Laney-Hamilton, who picked up an initial technical foul earlier in the game for a separate incident with Mabrey, said she did not intend to hit her opponent with the shoe.
“I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially while they’re not looking,” Laney-Hamilton said, according to the New York Post. “Teammate was without a shoe, so I did my best to try and get it to her. Unfortunately, it did hit someone.”
Laney-Hamilton was on the bench during the incident. She hit Mabrey in the back with the shoe, which came off teammate Jonquel Jones’ foot.
“She was trying to get the shoe back to J.J.,” Liberty coach Chris DeMarco told reporters. “It hit somebody. I think we are just making stuff up. … I just know it was an atrocious end to that game from the officials.”
Mabrey and Laney-Hamilton received technical fouls for their third-quarter altercation, which resulted in Laney-Hamilton falling to the floor. Laney-Hamilton also hit Mabrey in the face while they were fighting for a loose ball.
Mabrey scored a game-high 30 points, with five assists, two rebounds and a block. The guard told reporters after the game she was “working on not being rage-baited” when asked about the incident. Mabrey said she didn’t think Laney-Hamilton meant to hit her.
“I definitely had to take a couple breaths, but I think she was just trying to get the shoe back to J.J.,” Mabrey said.
Laney-Hamilton recorded six points and three rebounds. Veteran guard Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 28 points. Jones chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tempo outshot the Liberty 52% to 43%, including 38% to 19% from 3-point range.
The Liberty (13-11), who are on a three-game losing streak, will play the Dallas Wings (16-8) at 9 p.m. EDT Thursday in Arlington, Texas. The Tempo (10-13) will host the Washington Mystics (11-10) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Toronto.
