TORONTO — Maybe no team in the league was more ready for a return flight home and a good night’s sleep in their own beds than the Toronto Tempo.
On the heels of a 1-2 road trip that was marred by more injuries, losing leading scorer Brittney Sykes for the foreseeable future, the expansion franchise was afforded some much-needed relief in the form of nine straight games north of the border.
Seven of which will be played from the friendly confines of Coca-Cola Coliseum — where the Tempo are now 5-3 compared to 4-6 on the road — and two from the iconic Bell Centre in Montreal.
So, with their next road game not for another month, the Tempo made the most of home cooking, picking up a wire-to-wire 125-97 win over the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday. A franchise-record scoring performance and the most by any team in WNBA history (through regulation).
And the boost from being back in Toronto was immediate, as the Tempo rattled off a 20-8 run within the first five minutes of action. A run led by Marina Mabrey, who chipped in 19 of her career-high — and WNBA record-tying — 53 points on the night, on a scorching 5-of-6 start from the field.
Otherwise known as the highest-scoring first quarter in Tempo franchise history. The lead guard now also boasts the three-highest scoring quarters of any player this season.
“There’s no stat board in our gym. … After you get into a state like that, it’s kind of hard to know what you’re really doing, but my teammates made it known, so I knew I was doing something good,” Mabrey explained.
“I think it’s a little fatigue in there too … but the (slow) starts (have) hurt us,” Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello admitted pre-game on Thursday after her team had trailed double digits through the first half in each of their last three games. “We find toughness and grit throughout the game, but this league is too good to get down early and have to fight so hard to get back.”
And it was clear that the lead guard and her teammates were hell-bent on starting stronger than they had through their recent road trip, persistently attacking downhill for buckets (and free throws) rather than settling for bail-out threes early. It began on the game’s opening possession when Mabrey curled through a hand-off and knifed past two defenders before settling into a side-step jumper from the right elbow. She then got downhill for a pair of free throws and a blow-by layup, with a pull-up triple from 26-feet sandwiched in between.
By the end of the frame, Mabrey had racked up seven free throws to help the Tempo finish plus-six at the charity stripe, which was aided by a 5-of-7 effort from downtown to secure a 38-24 lead.
Safe to say the “start stronger” box was emphatically checked.
And although Toronto’s hot-shooting cooled off, making five more threes in the second, but on 12 attempts, Los Angeles failed to take advantage.
The Sparks shot just 5-of-16 in the second quarter, struggling to chip away at the double-digit deficit or slow down Mabrey, who went into the break with 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
If the 8,210 in attendance were looking for a sign that the Tempo were happy to be back in Toronto, Mabrey splashing a triple from the “Coca-Cola Coliseum” logo midway through the second quarter was about as good as they could get.
The onslaught continued after halftime as the Tempo’s lead ballooned as high as 35 points.
Mabrey chipped in 12 more points in the third quarter, none more electric than a stepback three she drilled from 27 feet, as the Tempo eventually settled for a 95-66 lead headed into the fourth quarter. She spent the first half of the possession clapping in Tima Pouye’s direction, demanding her heatcheck moment shortly after hitting from 24-feet, and upon receiving the ball, Mabrey made sure not to disappoint by canning the self-created triple.
The 29-year-old finished the third quarter already having eclipsed her old career-high, surpassing the mark she set just last week while willing the Tempo back from a double-digit deficit against the Connecticut Sun.
And it wasn’t long before Mabrey had achieved the first 40-point game of her career, nailing a bank-shot three minutes into the fourth quarter. She then went to the charity stripe a couple of possessions later, calmly making both freebies while being serenaded by “MVP” chants.
All that was left for the sharpshooter was to try to make some more history, with her sights set on the WNBA’s all-time single-game scoring record.
“What Marina did was something special,” Brondello said post-game. “I’ve been doing this for quite some time. I’ve never seen that. Even Diana Tarausi, who could shoot it really well. So it was special to be a part of it. I mean, to witness that … amazing.”
Mabrey quickly got to 50 in the fourth quarter before tying the WNBA record of 53 points on a transition pull-up from the right wing. Following a timeout that was drowned out by more “MVP” chants, Mabrey stepped back onto the floor just one step away from sole possession of the league’s best scoring performance.
She wouldn’t get there, however, as Mabrey wound up making the right basketball plays down the stretch, passing out of aggressive double teams, which ultimately led to easy baskets for her teammates up close. She ultimately took herself out of the game after her gas tank had emphatically reached its limit.
A true leader through and through, she made her post-game comments about everyone but herself.
“Number one, I’ll start with my teammates,” Mabrey said after her record-tying performance, making a specific effort to acknowledge Julie Allemand’s WNBA record-tying and career-high 14 assists on zero turnovers. “When you have teammates that have your back and are literally passing up layups to pass to you at the three-point line, that’s an elite level of trust that I couldn’t be more grateful for. And then obviously my coach, I have the ultimate green light, but also holding me to a high standard of making everybody else better, too.
“So I think tonight was just my night from the three-point line and from honestly everywhere … it was all going in. And then the fans, to have them chanting ‘MVP,’ I don’t know that I ever imagined that, but it was really a good feeling.”
Up next
The Tempo return to action on Saturday, hosting the Phoenix Mercury at Scotiabank Arena for Toronto’s “Play with Pride” night.
It’ll be the expansion franchise’s first game at the home of the Raptors.
 Los Angeles Sparks | 97 – 125 |  Toronto Tempo |
 B- | Isabelle Harrison 21 MIN, 9 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 4-4 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, 10 +/- A gritty game for the vet forward, doing all the little things for Toronto. While Izzy Harrison had an uber-efficient night scoring the ball, her impact on the glass was the loudest. Amid the Tempo’s barrage of threes in the opening half, the play that rocked Coca-Cola Coliseum the most was when Marina Mabrey pulled up in transition and missed but Harrison was right there under the basket to collect the miss and finish up close. | ||||||||
 B+ | Maria Conde 29 MIN, 13 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-8 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 27 +/- The Spaniard’s touch from outside appears to have returned and so has her confidence. The best example of it was in the first quarter whe Maria Conde brought the ball up the floor, spun off her defender and zipped a one-hand skip pass to the left corner that was then swung back to her in the right corner for one of the Tempo’s five early threes. Even if it’s because of injuries, the Tempo have leaned on Conde more, both as a second-side creator and on-ball presence and she seems to be making the most of it. | ||||||||
 C+ | Nyara Sabally 19 MIN, 5 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 18 +/- While the forward had a slow start trying to keep Nneka Ogwumike in check, she eventually settled into a positive, albeit subdued, performance. Her louded bucket came in the first half, pump-faking and driving past a hard closeout into a nice floating finish. | ||||||||
 A+ | Marina Mabrey 32 MIN, 53 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 17-28 FG, 9-18 3FG, 10-12 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 36 +/- Selling her effort as simply a magnet-ball effort would be a great disservice to Marina Mabrey’s basketball wizardry on Thursday. She was a force unto herself on the offensive end of the court, slashing inside early to generate abundance of free throws, and than putting forth a pull-up shooting display the likes of which Toronto hoop fans have seldom been familiar with. She hit step-backs, catch-and-shoots, side-steps — Mabrey’s bag was as deep as Hermoine Granger’s after using an undetectable extension charm. | ||||||||
 A+ | Julie Allemand 30 MIN, 13 PTS, 6 REB, 14 AST, 3 STL, 4-4 FG, 3-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 31 +/- The Belgian guard was the perfect complimentary floor general next to Mabrey on Thurday, often dictating the pace of play to the Tempo’s advantage. Julie Allemand knew when to ratched things up off misses and when to setting the game down and flow into more set actions. The added bonus of hunting her own offence on occassion was a definite bonus, like on the Tempo’s second offensive possession when Allemand corralled a loose ball and than settled into an above-the-break three. She doesn’t rack up as many assists as she did without opening up those passing windows through her scoring gravity first. | ||||||||
 Inc | Teonni Key 2 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Garbage time. | ||||||||
 B+ | Laura Juskaite 20 MIN, 10 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 4-13 FG, 2-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 14 +/- With both Brittney Sykes and Kiki Rice still out with injury, the Lithuanian rookie has been the Tempo’s most consistent source of downhill pressure, especially in situations where she isn’t opening possessions with the ball. It wasn’t the most efficient night but Laura Juskaite muscled her way into the paint and forced the Sparks into rotation on more than one occasion, while also sniffing out a handful of timely offensive rebounds. | ||||||||
 C+ | Temi Fagbenle 19 MIN, 4 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 15 +/- A similar game to Nyara Sabally where there were some early struggles defensively while the game hung in the balance, but the veteran centre found impact on the other end. Although Temi Fagbenle botched a wide-open line-drive layup early, she found a groove with a pair of rolling finishes later on. | ||||||||
 C+ | Kia Nurse 15 MIN, 12 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-8 FG, 2-6 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -10 +/- Despite some early lapses on the defensive end, including a foul that came while getting bowled over, the veteran was able to hit a couple of threes along the way. As long as Kia Nurse can find offence to off-set the negative moments defensively, it’s about all that can be asked for. Collecting a couple rebounds along the way didn’t hurt either. | ||||||||
 C | Tima Pouye 14 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 1-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 4-5 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 4 +/- Sandy Brondello acknowledged pre-game that the french guard should’ve played more in their loss to the Atlanta Dream. And the bench boss was true to her word, giving Tima Pouye an extended run on Thursday, and it was a bit of a mixed bag. | ||||||||
 A | Sandy Brondello The head coach made a point of the Tempo needing to start game stronger and building momentum defensively. Check and check. | ||||||||
Things we saw
- There are just two days left to vote for WNBA all-stars! The Tempo’s million-dollar backcourt of Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes came in at 26th and 35th, respectively, in the latest voting returns on Wednesday, but there’s still time to help both make a push!
- The hot-shooting appeared to be contagious! A fan made a half-court shot at the buzzer to win what else but Johnsonville hot dogs. The crowd went absolutely bonkers. Marina Mabrey’s impact knows no bounds.
- As mentioned, Saturday will be the Tempo’s first-ever Pride Month celebration game, and the first 5,000 fans will receive commemorative t-shirts.
