UNCASVILLE — When the Toronto Tempo needed her most, Marina Mabrey delivered. She put up an all-time great performance in a 101-97 win against her former team, the Connecticut Sun, on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The matchup marked the first time Mabrey has played in Connecticut this season since joining the Tempo, who selected her in this year’s Expansion Draft. A versatile three-level scorer, Mabrey has upped her game to another level this season and is currently averaging a career-high 19.1 points per game and three assists while leading the WNBA in three-point field goals (52) and attempts (133). In her nine seasons in the league so far, she’s made a total of 488 three-pointers and is ranked No. 23 on the all-time list in career three-point field goals.
In Toronto, she’s undeniably a bonafide star, but she hasn’t forgotten the very place where she learned to grow into her role as both a veteran player and a leader.
“Connecticut will always have a special place in my heart,” Mabrey told The IX Basketball before the game. “I got to play in the semifinals, that was really fun [and] a great experience I’ll never forget. And then just the younger generation of players last year taught me how to kind of change leadership styles, so I appreciate them for that. And those are all my friends.”
The Sun welcomed Mabrey on the jumbotron during warm ups, drawing cheers from the crowd while she waved back with a smile.
Leading up to that, Mabrey had expressed her gratitude for the time she spent with the franchise.
“I hope I don’t start crying,” she told the media pregame. “I’ve made a lot of big strides in my career being in Connecticut, and they’ve given me that platform to do so. I’m grateful for them.”
Her clutch scoring Friday night was an all too familiar sight for those inside Mohegan Sun Arena, except this time, there wasn’t a “cha-ching” sound that played through the arena speakers every time she knocked down a three.
Connecticut head coach Rachid Meziane had told the media before the game that it was going to be crucial for the Sun to remain physical and to not give Mabrey too much space, knowing all too well what she’s capable of beyond the arc. “We know that she’s someone who plays with confidence, so we have to set the tone immediately at the beginning of the game because if she comes down one, two, she can finish the game with 10 threes, so we have to really like to balance that,” he said.
The Sun, in many ways, executed that gameplan for three quarters with balanced scoring efforts from players like Kennedy Burke, who finished with 18 points, as well as Brittney Griner and Leila Lacan, who each had 16 points. They were also disruptive on defense, owning the boards and snagging steals that prevented the Tempo from getting into a consistent rhythm.
By the second half, the Sun had 16 point lead and looked very well like a team that could compete and hold onto a lead, but the Tempo had other plans. Mabrey unleashed a brilliant 21-point performance in the fourth quarter and showed off her versatility as a three-level scorer. She finished at the rim on two back to back possessions, including with 3:16 minutes left in the game to give the Tempo their first lead of the night since the second quarter. It was at that point that the Sun’s defense collapsed as they struggled to contain Mabrey, who made history when she knocked down her ninth three-pointer of the night with 1:03 left in the game to tie the all-time single game record for three-point field goals made.
She ended the night with a career-high 37 points. Teammates Temi Fagbenle and Maria Conde also contributed 19 points.
“She wants to win,” Toronto head coach Sandy Brondello said of Mabrey after the game. “She’s one of the best pure shooters that I’ve seen, and I’ve coached some pretty amazing ones. [It] looked like I was watching Diana Tarausi out there because I’ve seen her get in the fire just how effortless it is and just the how far she can shoot out, the confidence that she has in it. I mean, it’s elite. It’s pretty special. We’re lucky to have her.”
During her two seasons in Connecticut, Mabrey became a fan favorite and was known for both her sharpshooting ability and ultra-competitive mindset on the court. At times it resulted in her “crashing out,” a term used to describe moments when one gets emotionally reactive. It’s something Mabrey herself has poked fun at in the past, and she even has a glass jar where she puts money into it every time she pops off.
But the reality is that it’s this fire that fuels Mabrey’s dominance on the court. Even when the odds were stacked against Toronto — as the Sun had a 92.1% chance of winning the matchup going into the fourth — her ability to harness her frustration and use it as motivation has always been her true superpower.
“For me personally, [there’s] parts in the game that were kind of fired me up, like, for example, when [Charlisse] Leger-Walker stole the ball from me at half court, I’m not going to lie that really pissed me off,” she told the media postgame when asked what she was feeling in the moment. “… Sometimes you have to use little moments like that.”
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