The Toronto Tempo impressed on the road yet again Wednesday night, winning 111-104 over the Chicago Sky.
Despite being down multiple frontcourt players, the one centre they did have available, Nyara Sabally, stepped up for her team. Sabally’s 29 points on the night were a career high for the German, blowing her previous record of 16 points away.
“This is really not surprising to me,” Marina Mabrey said of her teammate’s big night. “She’s a really good player and can read the game really well and super smart. I love playing with her.
“Hopefully this is just one of many [of these performances].”
The Tempo’s lack of size, with both Temi Fagbenle and Isabelle Harrison still out with injuries, was an area of concern going into this game. However, Toronto was able to hold Sky centre Kamilla Cardoso, who is 6-foot-7, to just two points in the game, forcing coach Tyler Marsh to go to his backup in Elizabeth Williams, who scored 11 points on the night.
Sabally did everything she needed to do to help her team with these matchups, adding six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks to her stat line. She shot 78.6 per cent from the field, and 75 per cent from 3-point range.
“[Sabally] is an important player for us,” head coach Sandy Brondello said after the game. “She put so much work into it, she’s faced so much adversity, so when great things like this happen, it’s pretty special.
“She’s a very humble player, and I love that about her,” Brondello continued. “She just wants to win. It’s great when good people show what they can do.”
Brondello was part of the New York Liberty front office that drafted Sabally out of Oregon at No. 5 overall in 2022. Though Sabally would not play until the 2023 season due to injury, Brondello notes that the front office was confident in her ability to become a great player.
That belief in Sabally led to Toronto taking her in the expansion draft this season.
“Now she’s healthy and confident,” Brondello added.
Mabrey was another big factor in tonight’s win, especially in the final minutes of the game. When Chicago threatened to even up the game, it was Mabrey who scored multiple clutch baskets to maintain Toronto’s lead.
What did Toronto do to keep Chicago at bay in those final minutes?
“Score,” Brondello joked.
“I think we just did a good job keeping the ball in the middle of the court, trying to hunt out those matches, and then spacing so we could get to our spots,” Mabrey added.
Mabrey ended the game with 24 points of her own, with four rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. She shot 69.2 per cent from the field and 42.9 per cent from 3-point range.
“She makes all these threes, but it’s how she creates for her teammates too,” Brondello said of Mabrey. “She’s a really good passer, and we want to continue to put her into the actions.
“[Marina] has gravitational pull,” Brondello continued, “but she also makes the right play.”
While a lot of the injury talk has been about the team’s frontcourt players, the Tempo’s primary point guard, Julie Allemand, is still out with an injury.
After straining her groin nearly two weeks ago in Los Angeles, Allemand returned to practice this week, but was not available to play in Wednesday’s game. This meant the rookie, Kiki Rice, who the Tempo drafted No. 6 overall out of UCLA, was called upon to start yet again.
Rice has taken her unexpected starting role in stride, and despite going scoreless in her WNBA debut on opening night, has not scored fewer than 10 points since.
She has seven consecutive double-digit performances. As a starter, Rice is averaging 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and shooting 60 per cent from the field and 46 per cent from 3-point range.
In tonight’s win, Rice scored 14 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals as the Tempo get back to even season record of 4-4.
“She’s just tough-minded, takes any challenge on,” Brondello said of the rookie. “She just never backs down. Just stays confident, learns quickly, and embraces every challenge we put in front of her.”
This quick trip to Chicago is the Tempo’s sole game of the week until Saturday, when they will welcome the Seattle Storm back to Toronto after getting their first franchise win against the Storm at home on May 13.
Seattle has since welcomed their No. 3 overall draft pick Awa Fam to the team after she finished her season in Spain.
With a win on Saturday, the Tempo have a chance to clinch the season series against the Storm.
