The Toronto Tempo's inaugural WNBA game wasn't exactly a showcase of beautiful basketball, but the sellout crowd of 8,210 at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Friday night had plenty to cheer about—right up to the final buzzer.
Despite a gritty performance, the Tempo fell 68-65 to the Washington Mystics, with Shakira Austin sinking four clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win. For a debut, it was fittingly dramatic, even if the execution left room for improvement.
"It was a great moment," said Tempo coach Sandy Brondello. "Sad that we didn't win the game, didn't close it out, but the fans were fantastic. It was a very ugly game. Hopefully they get way prettier than that as we move forward."
The offensive struggles were evident: Toronto shot just 5-for-25 from three-point range and managed only 10 assists on 17 field goals. "We were poor on offense," Brondello admitted. "We didn't share the ball, we didn't play as a team as much as we would have liked."
Brittney Sykes etched her name in the history books by scoring the first points for the Tempo on a pull-up jumper in the first quarter. But she struggled from deep, going 0-for-5, including a missed three-pointer with 14 seconds left that could have given Toronto the lead.
The energy in the arena peaked early when Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair appeared on the video screen, drawing one of the loudest cheers of the night. Almost as electric was the moment Marina Mabrey knocked down a three-pointer with 4:19 left in the fourth quarter, putting Toronto up 57-56—their first lead of the second half.
"To have them have our back, cheering for us every time we figure it out, it kind of helps us feel like we're getting something going," Mabrey said.
Despite the loss, the Tempo showed promise in keeping the game close against a seasoned Mystics squad. "We've just got to execute a little bit better with how we want to play," Brondello noted.
For fans eager to see the Tempo in action again, the team gets another shot at their first win when they host the Seattle Storm on Wednesday night. If the debut is any indication, the energy in the building will be just as electric—and the basketball can only get prettier from here.