Marina Mabrey poured in 53 points to tie the WNBA single-game scoring record and the Toronto Tempo powered past the Los Angeles Sparks 125-97, with nine triples and a new Toronto franchise-best margin in a night that left the crowd chanting MVP.
Toronto, at Coca-Cola Coliseum, was already loud before Marina Mabrey even settled into the game. The Toronto Tempo star struck on the very first possession with a two-point jumper. then kept rolling—so much so that by the end of the first quarter she had 19 points. setting a team record for the opening frame.
Mabrey’s night kept building momentum, but the strangest part came after the fact. When she finally had a second to breathe, she leaned back, looked down at the scoresheet, and actually sounded surprised.
“53 points?!” she exclaimed. “I thought I had 35.”
It wasn’t just a big scoring output. Mabrey’s 53 matched the single-game WNBA scoring record as the Tempo routed the Los Angeles Sparks 125-97 on Thursday.
Only A’Ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces (Aug. 22, 2023) and Liz Cambage of the Dallas Wings (July 17, 2018) had previously reached that total. In Toronto’s short franchise history, the 53 points also came 15 more than the previous Tempo best—set on two occasions by Brittney Sykes.
The numbers were impossible to ignore once they started piling up in public view. Mabrey reached 50 points as only the sixth player in Toronto professional basketball history to do so. She connected on nine three-pointers, matching a WNBA record—one she already shared from a game earlier this month. When the MVP chants hit, she said she didn’t see it coming either.
“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 said.
She added that she only learned she was close to the record because her sister, Michaela Mabrey, sitting on the sidelines, told her she was three points away.
The full stat line was as sharp as the performance felt. Mabrey finished shooting 17 of 28 from the field, nine of 18 from deep, and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. She added six rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes.
Toronto used the burst to climb back to .500 at 9-9 with the win, while Los Angeles slipped just under the mark at 8-9.
“It’s my night from the three-point line, and from honestly everywhere,” Mabrey laughed. “And then the fans, to end up chanting MVP, I don’t know that I ever imagined that. But it was really a good feeling.”
Head coach Sandy Brondello looked stunned by what she’d witnessed.
“I’ve been doing this for quite some time,” she said. “I’ve never seen that. (Not even from WNBA legend) Diana Taurasi, and she could shoot it really well. I mean, to witness that was amazing.”
After that fast start, Mabrey’s scoring didn’t simply spike—it kept spooling. She now owns the three highest-scoring quarters in the WNBA this season. having scored 21 in the fourth quarter on June 19 against the Connecticut Sun and 18 in the final frame against the Washington Mystics on June 12. in addition to the 19-point first quarter that carried the Tempo early.
“I think it’s part of my game,” Mabrey said. “I score in bunches and then sometimes kind of just level out and score in bunches again. But I can’t say enough about my teammates.
“It’s so easy when they’re continually screening for you.”
If Mabrey was the spark, Julie Allemand helped make it a system. Allemand set a Tempo team record by dishing 14 assists without a turnover. She also completed the second double-double in Tempo history with 13 points and added six rebounds.
“Julie literally throws the ball right to my pocket, it’s actually wild,” Mabrey said.
The game’s record moment arrived with the kind of timing that leaves little doubt when you watch it. The record-tying triple came late in the fourth quarter on a feed from Allemand, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd and even forcing a timeout from the Sparks.
For Los Angeles, Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby led the way with 21 points apiece.
Allemand said her focus throughout the night was simple: get the ball to Mabrey.
“I love to pass the ball, obviously,” she said. “And when you have Marina shooting like that, you just want to pass her the ball. I think (teammate) Maria (Conde) got mad at me three times during the game because she had an open layup. but I was like. ‘No. sorry. it’s not for you tonight.’ Because Marina was feeling it.”.
This wasn’t the first time these teams met. The Tempo and Sparks split a pair of games last May in Los Angeles.
The victory also kicked off a season-long nine-game homestand for Toronto. That stretch will continue Saturday at Scotiabank Arena against the Phoenix Mercury, and it will include two contests at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
Brondello said she believes the Tempo can use Mabrey’s big night to build momentum.
“I do think we can build a lot of momentum,” she said.
Still. the most memorable part for the building may have been the final sequence—how close to the ceiling everything felt. and how quickly the game turned into a celebration rather than a contest. As Mabrey pushed the total upward—41 became 43, 45, 48 and 50—she remained unaware of the new stakes. The crowd buzz grew steadily until she hit 53, and the house came down.
But exhaustion and circumstance caught up with her. Brondello said Mabrey wanted to come out once the record was secure.
“She wanted to come out,” Brondello said. “I said ‘No, no you’ve got to stay in for this record.’”
Mabrey stayed. She drilled two more three-pointers that both missed, then the moment passed.
“She was done. She goes, ‘I’m out,’” Brondello said.
When she checked out with one minute remaining, fans briefly booed before erupting into cheers, recognizing the night she’d already made. The clock ticked down to zero with chants of ‘We Want Mabrey!’
“Next time,” Mabrey said.
Toronto will chase that momentum soon—starting Saturday at Scotiabank Arena—but Thursday’s record night already has a way of sticking to the memory.
Marina Mabrey Tempo Toronto Tempo Sparks Los Angeles Sparks WNBA 53 points WNBA scoring record Coca-Cola Coliseum Julie Allemand Sandy Brondello MVP chants
53 points is wild. Like how do you even miss a shot in the NBA/ WNBA that many times?
The crowd was chanting MVP and she was like “I thought I had 35”?? That’s the most relatable athlete thing ever lol. Also 125-97 is pretty brutal for the Sparks.
Wait so she tied the single-game record but also it says only like A’Ja and Liz did it before. So is this a tie or did she actually break it? I’m confused. Plus I feel like 9 triples means the defense just forgot she existed.
I read “Tempo powered past” and thought it was like a music thing or speed skating or something. But wow 19 points in the first quarter?? I don’t even score that in video games. Mabrey looking surprised on the scoresheet is crazy though, like who just guesses 35 and somehow ends up with 53