In a thrilling overtime showdown on Sunday, the New York Liberty edged out the Washington Mystics to start their season 2-0. While the victory keeps the Liberty undefeated, star forward Breanna Stewart didn't hold back her frustration—not with her teammates, but with the officials.

The game was a nail-biter, featuring 11 lead changes and eight ties before heading into overtime. But for Stewart, the real story wasn't the back-and-forth action—it was the whistle-happy officiating that dragged the game on far longer than necessary.

"It disrupts everyone's flow, not just my team, both sides of the game. This game was 2 hours and 41 minutes long. That's insane," Stewart said in her postgame press conference. "We said it last game too. I know it's going to take time figuring out the standard of what's going to be called, but there are calls being made that are unnecessary on both sides, and then there's no flow. So, I still don't know."

At first glance, a complaint about game length might seem like a petty gripe from a winning team. But Stewart's frustration points to a larger trend shaking up the WNBA early this season. Last year, officials averaged 34.8 fouls per game. Through the first two weeks of this season, that number has skyrocketed to 44.06 fouls per game. Sunday's contest was an extreme outlier: referees called a staggering 58 fouls—nearly double the league's average from last season.

The league has made a clear push to curb excessive physicality, a move that players and coaches have largely supported. But the early returns suggest officials may have overcorrected. Stewart isn't alone in voicing concerns; across the league, players are struggling to find a rhythm amid the constant stoppages.

"We talked about some unnecessary physicality. We didn't say we want to call marginal fouls. Never brought that up," Stewart added, hinting that the new standard may be too strict for a sport that thrives on intensity and flow.

For now, the Liberty are happy to be 2-0, but if games continue to stretch past the 2-hour-40-minute mark, don't expect Stewart to keep quiet about it.