Toronto fans thought they were getting a regular weeknight game. Instead, Marina Mabrey turned Coca-Cola Coliseum into her personal shooting clinic, hanging 53 points on the Los Angeles Sparks as the Toronto Tempo rolled to a 125-97 win.
Mabrey buried nine 3-pointers, went 17-for-28 from the field and 10-for-12 at the line, turning what started as a tight contest into a fourth-quarter laugher. By the time she checked out in the final minute, the crowd was on its feet, chanting her name and soaking in a piece of league history.
Mabrey Ties League Record
Mabrey's 53 points tied the WNBA single-game scoring record, a mark first set by Liz Cambage in 2018 and matched by A'ja Wilson in 2023, according to the league box score. The official game log shows she finished 17-of-28 overall, 9-of-18 from deep, and 10-of-12 at the stripe, numbers that are all listed on the game page at WNBA.com. As first reported by Newsday, the performance also tied the WNBA record for 3-pointers made in a single game.
How The Onslaught Unfolded
The shot that pushed Mabrey to 53 was almost casual: a corner 3 with just under three minutes to play, off a kick-out from Julie Allemand, who piled up 14 assists. Tempo coach Sandy Brondello called it "the most amazing thing I've ever seen," a fitting summary for a night when every Mabrey heat-check seemed to drop.
Recaps from CBS Sports described a mixed reaction of boos and cheers from the Toronto crowd before it settled into a full standing ovation as she walked off. The eruption shattered the Tempo's previous single-game scoring high of 38 points.
Where This Leaves The Teams
The win nudged the expansion Tempo back to .500 at 9-9 and kicked off a nine-game homestand in emphatic fashion. Los Angeles dropped to 8-9, with Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby each scoring 21 points in the loss, according to a recap from Sportsnet. Toronto will host Phoenix on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena, while the Sparks head to Indiana that same night.
Big Picture
For Mabrey, a 29-year-old Notre Dame product known primarily as a dependable catch-and-shoot threat, this was the kind of breakout that rewrites how a player is talked about. Her 53-point detonation instantly becomes the signature performance of an already-productive season and a moment that vaults her further into the national conversation.
NBC Sports noted that the show Mabrey put on will help keep Toronto squarely on the national radar as the Tempo grind through their lengthy homestand.
Up Next
The Sparks will face Indiana on Saturday night, and the Tempo will welcome Phoenix to Scotiabank Arena the same evening, per Newsday. Fans who watched Mabrey light up Los Angeles now get to see if she can keep that flamethrower going for the rest of the homestand.
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