Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey delivered one of the most remarkable shooting performances in league history on Thursday night, pouring in 53 points to equal the WNBA single-game scoring record as her team thrashed the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 125-97.
Mabrey’s outburst matched the standard set by Liz Cambage for the Dallas Wings back in 2018 and later matched by A’ja Wilson for the Las Vegas Aces in 2023.
The 29-year-old guard from New Jersey finished the night an efficient 17 of 28 from the field, including a blistering 9 of 18 from beyond the arc, and added 10 of 12 from the free throw line.
Her nine made threes also tied the league mark for most three pointers in a single contest, a feat she had already reached once before this season, on June 19 against Connecticut, when she set what was then a career high of 37 points.
This time, Mabrey blew past that number well before the final buzzer. She had already climbed to 39 points through three quarters before catching fire down the stretch, adding another 14 points to pull level with Wilson and Cambage atop the record books.
Tempo Dominate From Start to Finish
Toronto never trailed in the contest, jumping ahead early with a 19-6 run inside the first four minutes that featured three pointers from Mabrey, Maria Conde, and Julie Allemand.
The lead swelled to as many as 35 points as the Tempo torched the nets, finishing 20 of 42 from three as a team, a number that nearly matched the Sparks’ entire output from outside.
Conde chipped in 13 points on 3 of 5 shooting from deep, along with seven rebounds, while Allemand was perfect from three-point range, going 3 of 3 en route to 13 points and a career high 14 assists. Off the bench, Laura Juskaite contributed 10 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
For the Sparks, who fell to 8-9 on the season, the offense relied heavily on Nneka Ogwumike, Dearica Hamby, and Rae Burrell.
Ogwumike and Hamby each scored 21 points, with Ogwumike grabbing seven boards and Hamby pulling in a team-best nine rebounds. Burrell added 17 points, but little else came from the rest of the roster.
Los Angeles shot just 11 of 38 from three-point range for the game, and starting backcourt players Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins both battled foul trouble throughout. The Sparks were also without forward Cameron Brink, who sat out due to an ankle injury.
A Costly Absence for Los Angeles
The Sparks had taken Toronto to the wire in two earlier meetings last month, splitting that pair of games.
But without leading scorer Kelsey Plum, who is sidelined with a leg injury suffered during a win over New York the previous Sunday, Los Angeles struggled to find any rhythm early and could never recover.
According to Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello, speaking after the game in comments shared by Prime Sports, she told her players the performance was something special, praising the team’s confidence and belief throughout the night.
Mabrey herself admitted afterward that she lost track of how dominant her shooting had become until her teammates pointed it out, and described hearing fans chant MVP as a feeling she never expected to experience.
