In a battle of the expansion franchises, the Toronto Tempo lost their momentum in the second half of Saturday’s game, falling 99-80 to the Portland Fire.
“Credit to Portland,” head coach Sandy Brondello said after the game, “We didn’t play anywhere near our potential, which is disappointing.”
While the Tempo had home court advantage after playing their last four games on the road, it was a homecoming for multiple members of the Portland Fire. Bridget Carleton, of course, but also rookie Serah Williams and assistant coach/assistant general manager Brittni Donaldson.
“I’m really happy for Bridget,” Kia Nurse said about her Canada Basketball teammate in Carleton. “She’s played a heightened role on her European teams, and because it’s not as televised, people haven’t been able to see it.
“It’s great that she’s getting the opportunity to really show what she can do. Nothing but happy for her, and really proud of her.”
Carleton scored 15 points to help the Fire get ahead in the second half, shooting 50 per cent from 3-point range. She added two rebounds, three assists, and two steals to her stat line in her first regular-season game in Canada.
Williams was born in New York but moved to Toronto as a teenager and spent her high school years in Canada. In the Fire’s win, she scored 8 points on 50 per cent shooting from the field, making three rebounds, two steals and one block.
Toronto was able to get back Nyara Sabally from injury for this game, but were still outmatched in the front court. Earlier on Saturday, the Tempo announced that while Sabally was returning, Temi Fagbenle and Isabelle Harrison would be out longer.
This game against Portland was the sixth game the Tempo have played in the past 11 nights, and two of the four injuries Toronto is dealing with happened in that span. When asked if Brondello thought that the tight schedule was a factor in Saturday’s loss, she said that she “was not going to use that as an excuse.”
“I think we just got away from our identity,” Brondello said. “Our defence is very average at the moment, we’ve got to find solutions for that.
“Portland exploited us all over the floor. Our pick-and-roll defence wasn’t very good, our one-on-one defence, our rotations. We just need to get back to being a little more tougher on both ends of the floor.”
After going into halftime tied, the Tempo lost the third quarter 22-17 and then the fourth 33-19. Portland’s backup centre, Megan Gustafson, came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field, and Portland took advantage of the size mismatch in the post all night.
Toronto were led offensively by the guard duo of Marina Mabrey and rookie Kiki Rice, who each had 19 points. Rice’s 19 points came from an efficient 8-for-11 shooting from the field, and she added five rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.
With this game, Rice became one of two WNBA rookies to have six double-digit scoring games so far this season. She is joined in that exclusive club by Olivia Miles of the Minnesota Lynx.
Rice, the No. 6 pick in the 2026 WNBA draft and Toronto’s first-ever draft pick, has taken on the starting point guard role for the Tempo this week.
Their usual starter in that position, Julie Allemand, suffered a groin strain last week against the Los Angeles Sparks and has been out since. She is ramping back up to make a return to the lineup.
The Tempo are experiencing ups and downs in their inaugural season, but Brondello says she is never one to get “too high or too low.”
“We’re facing some adversity, and sometimes you need to get slapped in the face to make some change and be better,” she said.
