Add The New York Post on Google MONTREAL – Betnijah Laney-Hamilton tossed a shoe Sunday.
Laney-Hamilton was ejected with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter of the Liberty’s 93-91 loss to the Toronto Tempo after she threw a shoe that hit Marina Mabrey in the back.
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It all happened so fast. In a matter of seemingly a few seconds, Jones’ abandoned shoe went from sitting under the Liberty’s basket to soaring through the air before hitting Mabrey.
The bizarre incident happened during a play stoppage after Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu drew a charge.
Laney-Hamilton was assessed a technical foul for throwing the shoe. It was her second technical of the matchup, resulting in her automatic ejection and first of her career.
Laney-Hamilton got into a skirmish with Mabrey in the third quarter, in which they each received technicals.
Laney-Hamilton was also assessed a flagrant-1 foul late in the second quarter after her arm made contact with Mabrey’s face while the two scrambled for a loose ball.
After the loss, Laney-Hamilton told The Post that she didn’t intend to hit Mabrey with her shoe.
“I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially while they’re not looking,” Laney-Hamilton said. “Teammate was without a shoe, so I did my best to try and get it to her. Unfortunately, it did hit someone… I know just by the way that things were going throughout the game that it can look a certain way but that’s just not something that I would personally do… especially in a moment like that where the game is on the line.”
Coach Chris DeMarco was furious about Laney-Hamilton’s second technical.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said DeMarco, who called the officiating “atrocious” and “pathetic.” “We had all the momentum in the world. Shoe hit somebody, ejected, free throws.”
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 after Laney-Hamilton’s tech to give the Tempo a two-point lead.
The Liberty tied the game before Nyara Sabally made the go-ahead basket, which ultimately secured the Tempo the win and snapped Toronto’s four-game losing skid.
New York dropped to 13-11 on the season and has lost seven of its last 10 games.
