Quick Reaction: Tempo 101, Sun 97

The Toronto Tempo didn’t use injury struggles as an excuse, even with just nine players available. Instead, they pulled off another comeback win over the Connecticut Sun.

With a career-high 37 points, Marina Mabrey led the Tempo to a fierce fourth quarter 101-97 comeback win against the Sun.

With Kiki Rice, Brittney Sykes, and Nyara Sabally all sidelined with injury, Mabrey immediately took to her role as offensive spark plug. Half way through the first quarter she had already tallied eight points and set a gritty tempo for the rest of her teammates to follow.

The Tempo’s top scorer found life again in the fourth quarter. She had five threes and 21 points in the in the final frame alone. Her nine threes made also marks a career-high for the star. Mabrey finished the game with a career-high 37 points.

The Sun went on a 12-0 run in the second quarter that buried the Tempo. But it’s not as if Toronto didn’t have chances in that time, Connecticut’s success was helped by a Tempo group that struggled in the paint. There were four consecutive trips where Toronto put up layups and missed the easy shot.

Laura Juskaite maintained her spot in the starting lineup, but because Sykes is out, she moved to play as the 3-man. It is the first real experience Juskaite has as a guard since joining this team, despite it being the position she had been most comfortable in while playing overseas.

While the Sun depended on paint points to propel them, the Tempo lost the game in the paint. In the first half, the Sun had 28 points up-close to the Tempo’s 10. Brittney Griner was responsible for this push. She ended the game with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Toronto also didn’t have the benefit of bench help. With the number of injuries Toronto has suffered, it has had to use the usual bench contributors to fill out its starting line, and as a result didn’t get as much help from secondary players. On the other end, Connecticut leaned heavily on its bench. In the first half the Sun had 24 bench points to the Tempo’s nine.

In the second half, Toronto came out strong with an 8-0 run and started to make a dent in the Sun’s double digit lead. The Tempo won the third quarter 27-22 but still finished the frame down by 10. It was in the fourth quarter that they turned the game with a shutdown 10 minutes from Mabrey and solid contributes from Temi Fagbenle and other across the floor.

With the loss, the Sun continue on a seven-game slide. The Tempo returned to .500 and are now 8-8. Next, the Tempo will face the Atlanta Dream on Monday.

Toronto Tempo

101 – 97

Connecticut Sun

A-	Isabelle Harrison 30 MIN, 15 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 5-14 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-3 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Her size and ruthless presence in the paint was critical against a tall Sun lineup and her shooting from range was an added and necessary bonus.
B	Laura Juskaite 29 MIN, 4 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 2-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 4 TO, 7 +/- A coast-to-coast play for an easy bucket started the second half strong for Juskaite. Her determination and growing confidence on offence has been an asset.

A-	Temi Fagbenle 32 MIN, 19 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 8-9 FG, 2-2 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/- Fagbenle was a strong defence rebounder for the Tempo who found her offensive spark in the second half.
A+	Marina Mabrey 33 MIN, 37 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 14-24 FG, 9-12 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 6 TO, 21 +/- Immediately hot from the three, Mabrey knew the contributions she had to make and got to it early. She hit multiple personal milestones on Friday, and you could tell the fun she was having on her former court.
A	Julie Allemand 34 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 9 AST, 1 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 12 +/- Allemand was feisty on defence as she picked up her player early and piled on the pressure. On offence, her steady control of the ball earned her a team-high nine assists.
A-	Maria Conde 28 MIN, 19 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 5-12 FG, 5-8 3FG, 4-4 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Conde knocked down shots when it mattered. She did a good job of creating separation and getting solid looks.

C+	Teonni Key 3 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -10 +/- Key needed to bring more on Friday night. She played only a few minutes and made little impact.
C+	Kia Nurse 5 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -15 +/- Nurse missed her three-point attempts and didn’t make much impact with her few minutes.
Inc	Tima Pouye 6 MIN, 3 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Pouye brought hustle from the moment she checked into the game. Her minutes were minimal, yet she jumped into action on both ends of the floor.
Inc	Sandy Brondello It was a slow start for the group, but Brondello made some good adjustments at halftime to get the team off to a better start in the third quarter. Her fourth quarter timeout was perfectly called to kickstart Mabrey’s rampage.