TORONTO — Marina Mabrey matched the WNBA scoring record with 53 points behind a torrid 9-of-18 effort from 3-point range as the Toronto Tempo routed the short-handed Sparks, 125-97, on Thursday night.
Mabrey had already tied the league’s single-game 3-point record when she hit nine in a June 19 victory over Connecticut, establishing a then-career-high 37 points in the process. She eclipsed that mark three quarters into Thursday’s game with 39, then erupted for another 14 to match A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage for the scoring record.
Cambage did it for Dallas against New York on July 17, 2018, and Wilson did it for Las Vegas at Atlanta on Aug. 22, 2023.
When Mabrey checked out with a minute remaining, fans briefly booed before erupting into cheers in acknowledgement of her big night. The clock ticked down to zero with chants of “We Want Mabrey! We Want Mabrey!”
Mabrey, who was selected by the Sparks in the second round of the 2019 WNBA Draft, shot 17 for 28 from the field and made 10 of her 12 free throws. The 29-year-old former Notre Dame star shattered the expansion team’s previous high of 38 points done twice by Brittney Sykes.
Nneka Ogwumike (21 points, seven rebounds) and Dearica Hamby (21 points, nine rebounds) paced the Sparks (8-9), who were without leading scorer Kelsey Plum (lower leg injury) and forward Cameron Brink (ankle). Rae Burrell added 17 points.
Toronto (9-9) never trailed, setting the tone early with a 19-6 run less than four minutes in behind a trio of triples from Mabrey, Maria Conde and Julie Allemand. The Tempo’s lead grew to as many as 35 points from there, with Toronto shooting a sizzling 20 for 42 from 3-point range.
Conde finished 3 for 5 from behind the arc on the way to 13 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds. Allemand was a perfect 3 for 3 from long range en route to 13 points and doled out a career-high 14 assists. Laura Juskaite added 10 points and a game-high 12 boards off the bench in the highest-scoring game in the expansion team’s brief history.
Mabrey’s nine made 3-pointers were nearly as many as the Sparks made as a team. The Sparks finished 11 for 38 from deep.
Beyond Ogwumike, Hamby and Burrell, the Sparks generated little offense from elsewhere. Starting guards Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins were mired in foul trouble for much of the night, and the bench did little without Brink.
The Sparks came into Thursday’s contest having split a pair of games with Toronto last month in L.A., but they sputtered early and never recovered in this one.
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The Sparks play at Indiana on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT.