What to know
- The Toronto Tempo failed to make the WNBA playoffs after a tough season plagued by 12-straight losses.
- The Tempo currently sits in thirteenth place out of 15 teams, having only won 11 out of 37 games played this season so far.
- Sports broadcaster and WNBA analyst Ashley Docking attributes the Tempo’s tough season to the slew of injuries players have suffered over the months.
After a tough inaugural season marred by injuries, the Toronto Tempo failed to make the WNBA playoffs, ending their first campaign in thirteenth place.
One of two new expansion teams added to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Tempo played their first in-season game on May 8 to a crowd that has been waiting over 20 years for the True North to enter the WNBA races.
But after a promising start, the Toronto Tempo was met with a losing streak that dampened spirits and kept the team out of playoff contention. After 12 straight losses, the team finally caught a break in Vancouver’s exhibition game, winning against the Portland Fire 82-79, before falling to the Las Vegas Aces 78-88.
The Tempo has only won 11 out of 37 games played this season so far.
Plagued by injuries
Ashley Docking, a WNBA expert and sports broadcaster, says the Tempo’s disappointing performance was mainly due to the unprecedented number of injuries suffered by star players.
“There are always things that can be done to improve results but Toronto truly was up against it injury wise the entire season,” she explains.
Instead of allowing role players to do what they’re good at, such as making rebounds or playing only defense, they were expected to fill gaps left by injured star players.
Isabelle Harrison and Nyara Sabally, who both played on the New York Liberty last season, were out for 12 games. Kiki Rice, who the Tempo drafted sixth in the college draft in April, missed 16 games.
Brittney Sykes, who came to the Tempo from the Seattle Storm, has missed 19 games and is injured again.
“Just when someone came back it felt like another went down,” Docking explained. “The team even went out and traded for Aneesah Morrow, who’s also now hurt.”
“It really felt like they couldn’t catch a break, find a rhythm and continue on their promising start.”
Weak points
Other than never-ending injuries, Docking says the team also struggled defensively this season.
She says Tempo players dropped the ball during moments of intense offensive pressure by the opposing team, and missed grabbing the ball in time to make offensive rebounds.
“When healthy, the Tempo had really strong guard play and glimpses of fast, run and gun ball but defensively they struggled,” Docking points out.
“Point of attack pressure and second chance opportunities killed them in some of the tight games that eventually led to their extended slide.”
Tempo’s MVP
But despite the losses, one player defied all expectations and rose to the occasion: Marina Mabrey.
After seven seasons in the WNBA, Mabrey was drafted to the Toronto Tempo from the Connecticut Sun. Before the Tempo, she averaged 14.6 points per game. Now, she averages 20.8 points.
Read More
During the June 25 game, she single-handedly scored a historic 53 points in one game, bringing the Tempo’s total to a record 125 points.
“Mabrey is top two and she’s not number two,” Docking says. “The weight of the world on her shoulders, the $1M in the bank and the expectations of a franchise cornerstone — she delivered.”
“She’s special and knew it all along. The rest of the WNBA is just catching up.”
