The Toronto Tempo have one of the toughest schedules league-wide in the second half their inaugural season, and it’s showing.
After the All-Star break, Toronto has played back-to-back games against the Minnesota Lynx, who top the WNBA standings. In the first match, the Tempo showed fight. In the second, they suffered their biggest loss of the season.
Minnesota took the game on Thursday night 104-72, with the 32-point deficit the Tempo’s worst of the season. Their 22 turnovers led to 31 points for the Lynx, erasing their entire lead. In comparison, the Tempo scored 10 points off of 10 Minnesota turnovers.
“[We need] to be more mentally tougher and physically tougher because that’s embarrassing,” head coach Sandy Brondello said after the game. “This is on our home court.”
The Tempo played at Scotiabank Arena for the second time this season, this time to a crowd of 18,145 fans.
“I think it’s great that we’re able to be in this arena and understand the significance around it,” Kia Nurse said of playing at Scotiabank. “This is obviously an iconic arena, and being able to play here as the Toronto Tempo is massive. It’s obviously got more seats, so we can invite more eyes into the game.”
As Brondello put it, Toronto made it easy for the Lynx to go on a crusade against them on their home court. Four of the five Lynx starters scored in double digits, with all of Olivia Miles, Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier scoring 16 points each.
“Too many turnovers, unforced turnovers, and soft turnovers,” Brondello continued, “they’re not rebounding, and the aggressor always gets the calls there, we did not handle that well.”
Toronto has been trying to put more effort into cleaning up their defence and rebounding, as they sit in 15th place (last) league-wide in defensive efficiency. In Tuesday’s first match against the Lynx, Toronto was able to beat them on the glass, but could not to repeat that performance on Thursday. The Lynx got them 36-26 in total rebounding.
“We just got to get back to know what winning basketball looks like,” Brondello said, “and that’s being physically tough at both ends of the floor.”
As far as injuries, Kiki Rice was back for her second game since suffering a grade three ankle sprain, her first back at home. Brittney Sykes is still out with a foot injury, and despite a Wednesday update that she is progressing in her recovery, there is no timeline for her return. Isabelle Harrison missed her second consecutive game with knee soreness.
Nyara Sabally returned to the lineup after missing two games with a rib injury, but Brondello hinted after the game that she maybe shouldn’t have been out there – it was more so her wanting to play more than being ready.
“She only could go in spurts,” Brondello said of Sabally’s recovery from a rib injury. “She has trouble being able to breathe.”
The Tempo’s woes don’t end here, as they are about to embark on a five-game road trip through the West. Three of the four teams they’ll face in that stretch are playoff teams, with the Portland Fire lingering in ninth place in the standings.
After playing 10 of their last 11 games on home courts in Toronto and Montreal, the Tempo won’t be back on home court until Aug. 18. Perhaps the change of scenery can shift something for this injured team, who have now lost nine of their last 10 games.
“I think the messaging going on the road trip is like, are we going to compete?” Brondello says of her communication with her team. “We have to show some fight.
“We’ve got to face adversity, and we are. So what kind of team do we want to be?”
The Tempo head to Golden State to play the Valkyries next, a game that coincides with the WNBA’s Aug. 2 trade deadline. Between now and then, a few decisions need to be made.
Do the Tempo continue in their current injured and depleted state and focus on the future beyond this season, or do they retool through a trade and try to make a playoff push? Does the addition of a true post player via trade add what they are lacking or just put a bandage on a bigger bleed? Do they exercise patience in the larger process of it all or cave to the urgency of immediacy?
There is still a lot to learn about the identity of the Tempo franchise, both on the court and behind the scenes, and their decisions leading up to their first trade deadline will be an indicator of that.
