TORONTO — The morning Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell came into town, the Toronto Tempo weren’t just concerned about facing two of the league’s greatest scorers. They were trying to ensure they’d have enough players available to even take the court.
“I think it reminds me a lot of us a year ago,” Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White said before the game as she reminisced about the injuries that plagued her team at the end of last season and into the playoffs.
“You never quite know who’s going to be playing. You never quite know who’s going to be starting. But everybody that gets an opportunity to play is trying to prove something, right?”
On Friday, it was the league’s best offence against a mashup of the Tempo’s remaining players, and although the Tempo played a close contest through some of the second and most of the third quarter, the Fever pulled away. The Tempo’s 103-85 loss came with a full injury report that included Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes and Aneesah Morrow, who are out for the season, along with Maria Conde, who missed it with an illness.
“We like the pieces, we just haven’t seen them all together, which is unfortunate, but that’s sport, isn’t it? So what we can continue to do is continue to build the foundation, and I think we’re doing that,” head coach Sandy Brondello said after the loss.
“We’re getting to evaluate them well and that certainly helps us as we lead into 2027.”
It’s been exactly one month since these two teams met at Scotiabank Arena, and just as long since the Tempo have played at home in Toronto. Due to injuries, a lot has changed for the Tempo over that time. For one, this season is no longer about winning.
The focus now is on plummeting, sinking as far as possible in the few games left to ensure the best chances of adding top talent on draft night. The Tempo are in a fight for the bottom with the Connecticut Sun. This loss is just one step closer to a franchise player at next year’s draft.
If there’s one thing the Fever know well, it’s how transformative a high draft pick can be. Prior to drafting Aliyah Boston first overall in 2023, the Fever finished their season with a 5-31 record. The next year saw little improvement, and as a result, along came Caitlin Clark in the next draft. Now, they have a good shot at a deep playoff run for the second year in a row.
Clark showed what a first pick is capable of with a 28-point and 14-assist double-double against the Tempo. She set the tone within the first five minutes when she recorded eight points and two assists. Mitchell had even more impact as her seven threes and 33 points helped her set the record for most points scored by a player in a single WNBA season. With a total of 1,034 points this year, she surpassed A’ja Wilson, who scored 1,021 points in 2024.
“I think the most impressive thing to me is the efficiency with which she’s (scoring). She has always been a high-volume scorer. I’ve watched her since she was in high school. You know, covered her on television in college,” White said. “Her decision-making, and her ability, you know, to make the right play and the right read and get her teammates involved has just elevated.”
“She’s an amazing player,” Brondello agreed. “This is the best season I’ve ever seen her play.”
In the third quarter, the Tempo lineup surged to close the gap. Kiki Rice stared down the basket while Mitchell and Clark stood in front of her, but she didn’t waver from her line. She attacked the net, even with two of the league’s best in her way, and put in the layup that would give the Tempo their first lead of the game. The two stars didn’t quite know how to react, but the sold-out crowd sure did.
Rice led the team with 18 points and unparalleled poise. She didn’t shy away from attacking the rim and ended the night perfect from the foul line and with a 38.9 field goal percentage over 28:53 minutes of play.
“She does such a great job of finishing out the rim,” Brondello said. “This is why we drafted Kiki. We know she’s more than that, though. She’s a two-way player, but her ability to get downhill. We’re just trying to put on those situations, and she does the rest.”
Temi Fagbenle and Isabelle Harrison each had 16 points, and helped the Tempo to its total of 38 points in the paint. Harrison led the team in rebounds with nine, but also missed five of her 11 free throws.
Friday was the Tempo’s first game at Coca-Cola Coliseum in two months due to an extended road trip and a pause for the FIBA World Cup. They’ll close out the home portion of their schedule on Sunday when they host Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty.