Marina Mabrey tied the WNBA’s single-game scoring record of 53 points behind a torrid 9-of-18 3-point shooting effort, and the Toronto Tempo cruised past the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 125-97 on Thursday.
Mabrey had already tied the league’s 3-point record when she hit nine in a June 19 win over Connecticut, establishing a then-career-high 37 points in the process. She eclipsed that mark three quarters into Thursday’s contest with 39, then erupted for another 14 to match A’ja Wilson (2023) and Liz Cambage (2018) for the scoring record.
Tempo coach Sandy Brondello told her players postgame, in a video posted by Prime Sports, “I’ve been doing this for quite some time, and even I haven’t seen a shooting performance like that, Marina. It was amazing. You know who you are, you know what you can do and the confidence that you have is great.”
Toronto (9-9) never trailed, setting the tone early with a 19-6 run less than four minutes in behind a trio of triples from Mabrey, Maria Conde and Julie Allemand. The Tempo’s lead grew to as many as 35 points from there, with Toronto shooting a blistering 20 of 42 (47.6%) from beyond the arc as a team.
Conde finished 3 of 5 from beyond the arc on the way to 13 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds. Allemand was a perfect 3 of 3 from 3-point distance en route to 13 points and dished a career-high 14 assists. Laura Juskaite added 10 points and a game-high 12 boards off the bench.
Mabrey’s nine made 3-pointers, meanwhile, were nearly as many as Los Angeles (8-9) hit as a team. The Sparks went 11 of 38 (28.9%) from outside.
Beyond the trio of Nneka Ogwumike, Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell, the Sparks generated little offense.
Ogwumike and Hamby each finished with 21 points, and Burrell added 17. Ogwumike also snared seven rebounds and Hamby grabbed a team-high nine.
Starting Los Angeles guards Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins were both mired in foul trouble, and the Sparks’ bench was without rotational forward Cameron Brink due to an ankle injury.
The Sparks came into the Thursday contest having split a pair with the expansion Tempo last month in Los Angeles, each competitive contests. But with season-long leading scorer Kelsey Plum sidelined due to a leg injury sustained in a Sunday win over New York, the Sparks sputtered early and never recovered.
–Field Level Media
