Only six players in Toronto professional basketball history have scored 50 or more points in a single game – Marina Mabrey is now one of them, scoring 53 against the LA Sparks on Thursday. She did it in a 40-minute game, too, not the NBA’s allotted 48 minutes.
“When you have teammates that have your back and are literally passing up open layups to pass to you at the three-point line, that’s an elite level of trust that I couldn’t be more grateful for,” Mabrey said after her historic performance.
The Toronto Tempo beat the Los Angeles Sparks 125-97 at home on Thursday, setting the WNBA record for points scored in a regulation game. Mabrey’s 53 points tied the WNBA’s record for points by a player in a single game. It was her career-high, after she set her previous high of 37 points not even one week ago in Connecticut. She tied the WNBA record for three-pointers made in a game for the second time in one week as well, with nine made three-pointers on Thursday.
“I’ve never seen anything like that, even Diana Taurasi, and she could shoot it really well,” head coach Sandy Brondello said after the game. “It was special to be a part of it, to witness that.”
Toronto beat LA wire-to-wire, winning the first quarter 38-24. After their poor start against the Atlanta Dream on Monday, Brondello said in practice on Wednesday that starting games better is a top priority for overall team improvement.
Mabrey also took Monday’s loss personally, saying at the time that she “needs to be better as the team’s leader.” Her message to the team all week was that they need to be the ones to punch first in games, putting the onus on herself to make sure she led that effort.
“[Brondello] holds me to a high standard,” Mabrey said of her coach, “[to help] make everyone else better too.”
“We got cracked in Atlanta, so that wasn’t fun,” Mabrey said about Monday’s loss. “It’s not a good way to play, and we’re just better than that, honestly. So I wanted to help us set the tone in the first quarter.”
Mabrey has been in a different role this season with the Tempo than she has ever been on her previous teams. Historically known as a role player, someone to come in and make quick three-point buckets for a team, the Tempo have asked her to level up. She was the first $1 million player signed under the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, and she is a leader and number one option for a team for the first time.
“Going back to last season, I think I had one of my worst seasons,” Mabrey said, “and I kind of just.. I didn’t sulk about it.”
I just went back to the drawing board and went back to working really hard at Unrivaled, being a lot more intentional about what I was doing.”
It’s worked, as Mabrey is averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game, while also averaging career-highs in field goals made per game (7.2), field goal percentage (45.9 percent), and
three-pointers made per game (3.6). Her 21 three-pointers in the past three games is a new record for most in that timespan, and she is also tied for second in the WNBA for most 30+ point games this season.
Point Guard Julie Allemand also had a WNBA record-tying night, making 14 assists on 0 turnovers in this game. Those 14 assists led to 35 team points, and half of her total assists went to three-point shots.
“When you have players like that around you, who are making [shots], it makes my job easier,” Allemand said after the game. “I love to pass the ball, and when you have Marina, who’s shooting like that, like you just want to pass her the ball.”
“Like coach [Brondello] said, special to be a part of it tonight. So, for me, it’s all about Marina tonight, but also personally, it felt good, because I think I needed that kind of game.”
The fans loved being a part of it as well, chanting “MVP” for Mabrey during the fourth quarter and as she walked off the court.
“The fans, to have them chanting MVP… I don’t know that I ever imagined that,” Mabrey said. “It was really a good feeling.”
Those are the moments that I’m gonna remember about this game more than anything.”
Already cementing themselves in the record books, the Tempo are currently 9-9 on their season. They’ll play their first-ever game at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday against the Phoenix Mercury, their last game before the team takes a week-long break for the Commissioner’s Cup Final.
