Tempo beat Storm 86-73 for expansion Toronto's first victory behind Mabrey's 26 points
TORONTO (AP) — Marina Mabrey scored 26 points and made six 3-pointers, Brittney Sykes had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Toronto beat the Seattle Storm 86-73 on Tuesday night for the Tempo's first victory in franchise history. Toronto went on an 18-6 run in the third quarter to take a 65-56 lead, with Mabrey and Maria Conde combining for 14 points in the period. Then Mabrey scored eight points in the opening six minutes of the fourth, including two 3-pointers about a minute apart — the latter from near the logo — for an 81-71 lead.
Seattle only made one field goal in the final six minutes. Conde finished with 16 points off the bench and rookie Kiki Rice, the Tempo’s first-round draft pick, scored 12 for Toronto (1-1). Dominique Malonga led Seattle (1-2) with 21 points and seven rebounds.
Stefanie Dolson added 16 points and Jade Melbourne had 14 points and six assists off the bench. Flau’jae Johnson, the No. 8 pick in the WNBA draft, scored seven points on 2-of-7 shooting in 29 minutes.
Seattle led 45-44 at halftime behind 14 points from Malonga and 10 apiece by Dolson and Melbourne. The Storm made 50% of their field goals in the first half, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range. Up next Seattle concludes its three-game trip at Indiana on Sunday.
Toronto goes on the road for back-to-back games against Los Angeles, with the first one on Friday. ___ AP WNBA: https://apnews. com/hub/wnba-basketball