Tempo blow Sparks out behind record-tying 53-point Mabrey game
· Yahoo Sports
TORONTO -- The Sparks were caught in the most major crashout Marina Mabrey might ever have in her career.
Mabrey was relentless from the start, getting bucket after bucket. After 19 points in the first quarter, Mabrey went and tied the record for most points in a WNBA game with 53 huge points. The Tempo were in control from the start and never let up. The final? 125-97.
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"I think we ran into a team that shot the ball," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. "In the first quarter, they shot 81%. Not always was it bad defense. Good offense beats good defense. I'm not saying we played great defense. I'm just saying (Mabrey)'s an incredible scorer and you have to tip your hat to her tonight. She was tremendous. Could we have done better? Yeah. I need to watch the film to be able to answer that (question about defense) with clarity."
Jun 25, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey (3) reacts after making a basket against the Los Angeles Sparks in the first half at Coca-Cola Coliseum.Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Jun 25, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey (3) reacts after making a basket against the Los Angeles Sparks in the first half at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
The Tempo went up by double figures about three and a half minutes into the game and had a stranglehold the rest of the way.
"Erica Wheeler in the locker room said this off of the starters: we did not start the game well," Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said. "If you're looking at just the box score, it's a tale of two halves. We only won one quarter and that was the fourth. 38 points in the first quarter, that's just unacceptable. Obviously, we saw a heavy dose of what she had going on but they were moving. They were moving as a unit and they were cutting with purpose and executing. We were on our back foot and that's on us to be able to start the game better so that we're not digging from behind for the rest of the game."
Ariel Atkins, who was Mabrey's primary defender, got in foul trouble early and that might be part of the reason why Mabrey got loose.
"Yeah, (Ariel)'s a great player. We believe in her," Coach Roberts said. "She has not found her rhythm yet with us. But she still brings it defensively. She's a great teammate. Plays her tail off. We've just got to stick with it and stick with her."
The Sparks were missing Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink and they won't be with them for the next few weeks.
"I think we just got to play to our strengths with the group that we have," Sparks forward Dearica Hamby said. "We definitely have enough talent on paper. We've seen that we lead in transition so we got to get stops and play in transition more. We just got to (have) next man up mentality."
The Sparks got 21 points each from Hamby and Ogwumike while Rae Burrell continues to play well, finishing with 17 points.
For the Tempo, Mabrey tied the record for most points in a WNBA game with 53, joining A'ja Wilson and Liz Cambage in that feat. Former Spark Julie Allemand scored 13 points and dished out a career-high 14 assists. Laura Juskaite also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The good news for the Sparks (8-9)? They have another game on Saturday. But it promises to be a tough one as they go face the Fever in Indianapolis.