Marina Mabrey scored a career-high 53 to tie the WNBA single-game record as the Tempo set a league scoring mark in a 125-97 rout of the Sparks.
Marina Mabrey scored a career-high 53 points to tie the WNBA record for points in a regulation game, and the Toronto Tempo set a league scoring mark in a 125-97 rout of the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night.
Mabrey made 9 of her 18 attempts from 3-point range, matching a WNBA single-game record she had set just last week, and added 17 field goals overall on a 17-of-28 night. She poured in 19 points in the opening quarter and now owns the three highest-scoring quarters in the league this season.
The 125 points were the most any team has scored in a regulation game in WNBA history. Toronto led by as many as 35, pulled down a season-high 52 rebounds, and became the first team this season to make at least 20 3-pointers, finishing 20-of-42 from deep.
Mabrey credited the trust around her.
"When you have teammates that have your back and are literally passing up open layups to pass to you at the three-point line, that's an elite level of trust that I couldn't be more grateful for," Mabrey said.
She pointed to the work she put in after a difficult 2025 season.
"I think I had one of my worst seasons. I didn't sulk about it. I went back to the drawing board, went back to working really hard at Unrivaled, being a lot more intentional about what I was doing," Mabrey said. "Doing it for an expansion team is special because people don't have super high expectations for us, but we know what we're capable of in that locker room."
Julie Allemand set the table all night, handing out a career-high 14 assists with zero turnovers, tied for the most assists in league history without a turnover. She added 13 points and went 3-of-3 from 3-point range.
"When you have players like that around you making everything, it makes my job easier," Allemand said. "I think Maria got mad at me three times during the game because she had an open layup, but I was like, 'No, sorry. It's not for you tonight.' Marina was feeling it."
Coach Sandy Brondello said she had not seen a performance like Mabrey's.
"What Marina did tonight was something special. I've been doing this for quite some time, and I've never seen that — even with Diana Taurasi, who could really shoot it," Brondello said. "It was amazing to witness."
Brondello pushed Mabrey to stay in the game as the record came into view.
"She wanted to come out, and I said, 'No, no, no. You've got to stay in. You've got to go for this record,'" Brondello said.
María Conde added 13 points, Kia Nurse scored 12, and Laura Juškaitė posted 10 points and 12 rebounds for Toronto (9-9), which has won its last few games while piling up its highest assist totals of the season.
The Sparks (8-9) played without Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink and dug a hole they could not climb out of, falling behind 38-24 after one quarter. Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby scored 21 points apiece, and Rae Burrell added 17, but Los Angeles shot 28.9% from 3-point range and never led.
Ogwumike put the loss on the slow start.
"Erica Wheeler said it in the locker room — it's all about the starters, and we did not start the game well," Ogwumike said. "Giving up 38 points in the first quarter is just unacceptable. Obviously, Marina had it going, but they were moving as a unit. They were cutting with purpose and executing, and we were on our back foot."
Coach Lynne Roberts tipped her cap to Mabrey while acknowledging her team's defense.
"I think we ran into a team that shot the ball extremely well. In the first quarter they shot 81 percent. It wasn't always bad defense. Good offense beats good defense," Roberts said. "I'm not saying we played great defense, but she's an incredible scorer, and you have to tip your hat to her tonight. She was tremendous."
The win sends Toronto into its first game at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday against the Phoenix Mercury. The Sparks turn around quickly to face Indiana on Saturday.
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