How Toronto Tempo star Marina Mabrey was able to torch the Sparks for a WNBA-record-tying 53 points

The first basket in what became the highest-scoring game of Marina Mabrey’s career was almost ordinary.

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On the Toronto Tempo’s first possession against the Los Angeles Sparks last Thursday, she curled around a double-away screen, caught a pass from Julie Allemand, and drove into the lane. When Sparks wing Rae Burrell cut her off in the paint, Mabrey stepped back and buried a 16-footer to put the Tempo on the board.

The second shot was another story.

Mabrey was spacing the floor near the Coca-Cola logo on the right wing when Allemand found her again. Ariel Atkins immediately poked the ball loose. Mabrey recovered it nearly halfway between the 3-point line and half court, with Atkins chest-to-chest trying to take away any space. Mabrey went behind her back, stepped back again, and let it fly.

This time, it was from 26 feet. The swish sounded exactly the same.

Mabrey had a feeling she might have a big night. She had no idea it would become a 53-point explosion that tied the WNBA’s scoring record.

“I think sometimes when those really deep ones go in, it’s a little bit wild and then fans go crazy, and my teammates, too,” Mabrey said.

In one night, Mabrey rewrote two lines in the record book. Along with scoring 53 points, she tied the WNBA record with nine 3-pointers.

She shot 17 of 28 from the field, including 9 of 18 from beyond the arc.

And she wasn’t shy about stretching the floor. She attempted shots from as far as 29 feet, made three from 26 feet, and knocked down five from at least 24 feet.

“What Marina did was something special,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. “I’ve been doing this for quite some time and I’ve never seen it. Even Diana Taurasi, she can shoot it really well. So it was special to be a part of it. That was really amazing.”

Only three other players have reached the 50-point plateau: A’ja Wilson (53 in 2023), Liz Cambage (53 in 2018), and Riquna Williams (51 in 2013).

But they got there in two very different ways.

Cambage and Wilson, two of the most dominant post players the league has ever seen, flashed their 3-point range — Cambage made 4 of 5 from deep, and Wilson hit the lone 3-pointer she attempted — but did most of their damage in the paint and midrange.

Mabrey’s performance looked much more like Williams’s.

Williams set the scoring record at the time behind a barrage of 3-pointers, knocking down 8 of 14 while shooting 17 of 28 overall. Like Mabrey, she stretched defenses well beyond the arc, using perimeter shooting rather than post dominance to reach the 50-point mark.

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For Mabrey, it wasn’t easy to know the kind of night she was putting together because the scoreboard at Coca-Cola Coliseum shows only the score — not individual statistics.

“Today was different because I wasn’t really sure,” she said. “I think also maybe because there’s no stat board in our gym, so you can’t really [see]. After you get in a state like that, it’s kind of hard to know what you’re really doing. But my teammates made it known, so I knew I was doing something good.”

After a challenging season in Connecticut last year, Mabrey has bounced back as the centerpiece of Toronto’s expansion franchise. She ranks fourth in the WNBA in scoring at 21.2 points per game, and her 31.1 usage rate is the highest of her eight-year career.

“I think it just has honestly so many meanings for me,” she said. “Especially dating back to last season, I think I had one of my worst seasons and I didn’t sulk about it. I just went back to the drawing board. I went back to working really hard at Unrivaled, being a lot more intentional about what I was doing.”

Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever: With back-to-back games against Phoenix followed by a matchup with the Sparks, the Fever didn’t have an easy week. Mitchell made sure they stayed above .500, scoring 22 points in the first meeting with the Mercury, 30 in a 2-point win over Phoenix two nights later, and 26 against Los Angeles.

Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings: The Wings finished tied for the league’s worst record a year ago. Now they’re firmly in the playoff mix at 11-8, with Bueckers leading the way. In her second season, she has become one of the league’s most reliable and efficient scorers, highlighted by 27 points against Seattle and 25-point performances against Las Vegas and Minnesota.

Lynx at Liberty, Friday: A four-game West Coast trip proved costly for New York. The Liberty picked up an impressive win over the defending champion Aces but lost to the Sparks, Storm, and Valkyries to fall to 12-8. Minnesota, meanwhile, continues to steamroll opponents, owning the league’s best record and the best scoring margin at plus-11.2 points per game.

Valkyries at Dream, Saturday: Winners of seven of their last nine, Golden State has leapfrogged Atlanta into third place. The Valkyries already have beaten the Dream twice and can complete the season sweep before the halfway point.

Fever at Aces, Sunday: Last season, Indiana not only snapped a 16-game losing streak against Las Vegas that dated to 2020 but also beat the Aces twice. Both victories came without Caitlin Clark, who has had some of her toughest outings against Las Vegas. In five career games, she has never made more than two 3-pointers or more than seven field goals.

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