MONTREAL — The Toronto Tempo held off a late-game charge from the New York Liberty on Sunday, winning 93-91 to end a four-game losing streak in their second of two games at the Bell Centre.
Marina Mabrey led the way with a game-high 30 points for the Tempo (10-13) while Sabrina Ionescu’s 28 points were not enough for the Liberty (13-11) to stage a comeback.
Toronto established control early in the first quarter and led by as many as 10 points.
New York closed the gap when an Isabelle Harrison jump shot was controversially ruled out as the shot clock hit zero. The Liberty capitalized, scoring twice in the last six seconds.
The Tempo struggled in the opening stages of the second quarter as the Liberty fought back and tied the game at 26 after an 11-2 run.
Toronto got their rhythm back and, with the starters back on the court, put together a 15-4 run of their own in the last five minutes of the half.
In the third quarter, Mabrey took over. After starting the game 1-4 from the floor, the Tempo’s leading scorer scored 12 points from six shots in the frame. Dominant on both sides of the ball, Toronto’s lead went as high as 20 points.
The Liberty came flying out in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to single digits in just three minutes. New York kept chipping away and tied the game at 91 with less than a minute left. Nyara Sabally immediately replied with a layup that would end up being the game-winner, holding off the late comeback attempt.
Takeaways
Tempo: Going into this game, Toronto held a 2-13 record when they were outrebounded. Not clearing the glass has cost them all season, and it almost did again in this game.
Liberty: The Liberty came off back-to-back road games, and it showed. They had no answer for Toronto’s pace in transition and were outscored on fastbreak points 24-2.
Key moment
With the game winding down, Sabally made a clutch layup to give the Tempo a two-point lead, which proved to be the winning basket.
Key stat
Toronto shot the deep ball well as a team, hitting 37.5 per cent of their three-point shots, nearly double the rate of the Liberty, who struggled from beyond the arc.
Up next
Tempo: Will return to Toronto and host the Washington Mystics on Jul. 14
Liberty: Will continue their road trip against the Dallas Wings on Jul. 16.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2026.
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press
