Marina Mabrey delivered one of the most prolific individual performances in WNBA history on Thursday night, matching the league's all-time single-game scoring record with 53 points as the Toronto Tempo routed the Los Angeles Sparks 125-94. The mark puts Mabrey alongside A'ja Wilson and Liz Cambage as the only players ever to reach that threshold in a regular-season game.
A Historic Scoring Run, Built in Real Time
Mabrey was in command from the opening tip. She had already put up 27 by halftime — a pace that had the building buzzing — and added 12 more in the third quarter to reach 39 heading into the fourth. At that point, the Tempo's lead was insurmountable, and the team made a deliberate decision to feed Mabrey repeatedly, running offense designed to get her open looks from deep.
She obliged. Mabrey finished 17-of-28 from the field and 9-of-18 from three-point range, drilling nine threes in total. Her final tally also included six rebounds and two assists. The two late three-point attempts that didn't fall kept the record shared rather than broken — she checked out of the game with just over a minute remaining after the crowd gave her a standing ovation.
Expansion Team, Franchise Footprint
The context sharpens the achievement: the Tempo are in their inaugural season, assembled through an expansion draft. Mabrey had already set the franchise single-game scoring mark with 37 points last week. She doubled down on Thursday, and that earlier benchmark is now a historical footnote by comparison.
The Tempo's 125 points in regulation also set a new high-water mark for a WNBA game played in standard time. The Phoenix Mercury put up 127 in 2010, but that required double overtime.
In her post-game remarks, Mabrey credited the system around her rather than her own shot-making. She noted that three-point shooters are only as productive as the screens and delivery their teammates provide — and that her teammates executed exactly that all night.
A Family Witness to History
The evening carried personal weight beyond the statistics. Mabrey's sister Michaela, who played alongside her at Notre Dame and came up with her through the New Jersey youth basketball circuit, was in the stands to watch. Marina noted post-game that Michaela rarely gets the chance to attend, which made the occasion more meaningful than the record alone could account for. Michaela ran onto the floor after the final horn and embraced her sister in a moment the Mabrey family is unlikely to forget.
For the Tempo organization, the night announced something: this expansion franchise has a genuine star, and she just proved it on the biggest possible stage.