Mabrey Leads Toronto Into Seattle Storm After 27% Debut
Marina Mabrey opened with 27 points, but the Toronto Tempo still shot 27% from the floor and managed only 65 points in their WNBA debut, a rough start before their Wednesday meeting with the seattle storm. Toronto now gets a second look at the league after an opener that leaned on free throws and difficult shots more than clean offense.
Mabrey Carries Toronto
Mabrey finished the opener with 27 points and two assists, the kind of line Toronto needed but could not turn into efficient team scoring. Brittney Sykes had 4-for-18 shooting and missed all five of her three-point attempts, which left Toronto with too many empty possessions even while it drew 35 free throws against Washington.
The Tempo also bring one more clean bill of health into Wednesday’s game. Toronto had no injuries to report, so the same offensive pieces that struggled in the debut are available again as the team tries to sharpen its spacing and shot selection against a defense that has already shown it can squeeze lesser attacks.
Seattle Storm Pressure
Seattle has already given Toronto a harder defensive problem. The Storm held the Connecticut Sun to 40% shooting and limited them to 22 free throw attempts in an earlier game, and they have opened the scoring in both of their games so far. They have also held opponents under 86 points in seven of their last 10 games dating back to last year.
Dominique Malonga has been part of that start, with seven rebounds through her first two games and eight rebounds through the first two games listed in the provided figures. Taina Mair is questionable for Wednesday, giving Seattle at least one injury note to watch while Toronto comes in with no injuries listed and a clear need for cleaner offense than it showed against Washington.
That puts the matchup on a simple edge: Toronto must get more from its half-court possessions, and Seattle has the recent numbers to make that difficult. If the Tempo repeat the 27% shooting from their opener, the Storm’s ability to keep opponents below 86 points in most of their recent games gives the home side a strong path into Wednesday.
