VANCOUVER — The Toronto Tempo made their first trip across the country to play the first of two home games in Vancouver on Friday.
Canada’s west coast welcomed them with open arms, deafening cheers and fans decked out in the expansion team’s merchandise.
“Canada really showed up for us tonight,” said veteran forward Isabelle Harrison, who tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Tempo slide past the Portland Fire with an 82-79 Friday night win at Rogers Arena, over 4,000 kilometres away from their usual home court in Toronto.
The win snapped a 12-game losing streak for a team that has been plagued by injuries, with nine members of its inaugural roster missing multiple games this season.
The Tempo’s leading scorer Marina Mabrey (right adductor), Nyara Sabally (left calf) and Maria Conde (left calf) were all sidelined on Friday, and two minutes into the second quarter, veteran guard Brittney Sykes (left foot) and forward Aneesah Morrow (left knee) were ruled out for the rest of the game too.
“It’s just the tale of our season. Players in and out, injuries, whatever the case is, it’s really next man up,” said Harrison. “We may be down, but we’re not out and we keep fighting no matter what’s going on.”
As the Tempo regrouped, Portland jumped out to an early 13-point lead with Canadian guard Bridget Carleton scoring 10 of her 18 points in the opening frame for the Fire.
Toronto rallied back, led by Harrison, Kiki Rice and Laura Juskaite, who combined for 59 of the Tempo’s 82 points.
With 6:26 left in the fourth quarter, Rice nailed a running layup and drew a foul, sending her entire bench and thousands of fans inside Rogers Arena to their feet. She cashed in the free throw, extending the Tempo’s lead to 12, their largest of the night.
“It’s exciting. Those are the best moments throughout the game,” Rice said. “You just feed off the energy, feed off of each other, and it just made a really fun environment to play in.”
With less than two minutes remaining, Harrison sank a floater to put the Tempo up 77-76, sparking another roar from the crowd. She added two free throws as the expansion team secured its 11th victory.
Head coach Sandy Brondello noted that in the fourth quarter, the building got so loud she found it difficult to communicate with her players during timeouts.
“It’s great how loud (the crowd) got when it was a close, entertaining game. Great entertainment for the crowd, the fans. We felt the support when we made big plays,” said Brondello. “I’m happy the fans got to see us play. We are Canada’s team and they’re behind us, but I’m just proud that under all the adversity that we’ve faced, we just continue to compete. And we finally got a W. I’m happy for the players. They needed to feel good.”
After being officially eliminated from playoff contention in a 93-82 loss to the Washington Mystics on Wednesday, Friday’s win is a good sign for a team that’s been struggling to close out tight games. Perhaps more importantly, it served as the latest step in the Tempo’s effort to become Canada’s team.
The franchise passed its first test in July, setting a WNBA regular season attendance record with 20,996 fans packing the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Tempo came close to that mark again on Tuesday, selling out Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with 19,300 fans watching Caitlin Clark play her first game on Canadian soil.
The attendance of 12,414 in Vancouver didn’t break any records, but unlike the Montreal games (and many Toronto games) where there were cheers for players on both sides, fans at Rogers Arena backed the home team — and they were loud.
“Finally,” said Harrison, with a smile when asked about the support. “We were battling with them in Montreal a little bit, but I think the fans got the message, and they know who to cheer for now.”
The reception in both cities on the Tempo’s cross-Canada series has reinforced the organization’s belief that its appeal can extend well beyond Toronto. Tempo president Teresa Resch pointed to merchandise purchases from every province, followers from across the country and growing brand awareness in cities outside Ontario. But some of the most meaningful evidence, she said, has been anecdotal.
“My parents recently met someone at the airport who had flown into Vancouver from a community in northern B.C. specifically for the game,” said Resch, adding that fans at her hotel said they had been waiting all year for the Tempo to arrive.
And for young basketball players, the significance goes beyond fandom. Carleton, who grew up in Chatham, Ont., said the WNBA wasn’t even available to watch on TV for her growing up. She only watched WNBA games when her mom took her south to watch the Detroit Shock (now the Dallas Wings).
Today, kids across the country can watch professional women’s sports in their own backyard. Several members of the Vancouver Goldeneyes sat courtside at Friday’s game, representing the PWHL, another women’s league that has taken off in Canada over the last several years.
“I would have never imagined this as a kid when I was growing up,” said Carleton. “The fact that I’m 29 now playing in Canada at a WNBA game is just crazy. That kids have this to look up to. It’s really cool how much it’s evolved across America, and also now Canada.”
“Seeing women, professional athletes, playing so close to home, it’s like the sky’s the limit. You don’t have to have small dreams,” she added. “I think the biggest thing is that what you can see, you can be.”
Sykes was playing with the Seattle Storm last year when they faced the Atlanta Dream in Vancouver for the first regular season game to be held outside of America. Now, after a season with the Tempo, she said the fandom in Canada feels even bigger than in the United States.
“I wouldn’t have thought we’d have a team in Canada and now we do,” said Sykes. “We’ll probably have two, you know, there’s a west and we’re on the east sort of thing.”
“I think it’s dope just to see how far the league has come,” Sykes added. “I just want us to keep putting out a really great product for these little girls and every little kid. Not just girls, girls and guys, to believe that they can make it to the next level.”
The Tempo will host the Las Vegas Aces for one more Vancouver game on Sunday afternoon to close out the cross-Canada series.
Resch said that although competitive and operational considerations mean it will not be possible to visit new markets every year, the team intends to continue to explore games in cities across Canada.