Marina Mabrey turned Friday night into a showcase of pure shooting and late-game nerve, scoring a career-high 37 points and hitting nine 3-pointers as the expansion Toronto Tempo rallied past the Connecticut Sun 101-97. The performance tied the WNBA’s single-game record for made threes, underscoring how quickly a contest can swing when one player finds a rhythm—and when a team refuses to stop believing.
According to a game report distributed by CBS Sports, Mabrey’s 37-point output included a late surge that carried the Tempo through a difficult stretch. Toronto overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half, turning what had appeared to be a comfortable lead for Connecticut into a closing sequence defined by momentum and precision. Mabrey scored 21 of her points in the fourth quarter alone, making her the central reason the Tempo were able to change the shape of the final minutes.
The scale of Mabrey’s shooting was stark: she tied the league’s single-game mark by connecting on nine triples. CBS Sports’ account also emphasized the fourth-quarter explosion, while the broader implication was that the Tempo’s comeback was not simply about tightening defense or getting lucky—it was about manufacturing clean looks from distance and then converting at a record-setting clip.
Toronto’s scoring depth complemented Mabrey’s heroics. Temi Fagbenle provided another strong impact, shooting 8 for 9 from the floor and finishing with 19 points along with nine rebounds. Maria Conde added 19 points and contributed six rebounds off the bench, reinforcing that the Tempo weren’t relying on a one-dimensional surge. Still, it was Mabrey’s shooting—especially from beyond the arc—that defined the night’s headline.
Connecticut’s early control suggested the Sun had the game firmly in hand. The Sun opened with a 50-37 advantage at halftime, indicating both offensive effectiveness and defensive stability against Toronto’s first-half scoring. The storyline might have ended there, with Connecticut protecting a sizable cushion and turning the contest into a routine result.
Instead, Toronto flipped the script after the break. CBS Sports noted that the Tempo outscored the Sun 64-47 in the second half, a turnaround large enough to erase the halftime gap and produce a last-possession feeling. Toronto’s ability to outpace Connecticut over the full second half was the statistical proof of the comeback, but Mabrey supplied the psychological punctuation—finding ways to score when the Sun needed stops most.
For the Tempo, Friday night was also about timing. As described in the CBS Sports report, the win snapped a three-game skid, a reminder that teams can be defined by their responses when things have not gone their way in the previous stretch. After a difficult run, Toronto demonstrated the ability to execute under pressure rather than simply endure it.
Connecticut, meanwhile, had its own difficult context. The Sun entered the game having lost seven in a row, and Friday’s matchup continued that challenging stretch despite the strong first half. Kennedy Burke scored 18 points off the bench for Connecticut, providing a productive scoring outlet even as the deficit expanded in the later stages. Burke’s contribution highlighted that the Sun’s problems were not purely about a lack of effort—it was the combination of Toronto’s second-half surge and Mabrey’s scoring volume that made recovery nearly impossible.
Another account of the same game details the mechanics behind Mabrey’s mark. The Washington Post reported that Mabrey scored 37 points while tying the WNBA record with nine 3-pointers and that Toronto overcame the 16-point second-half deficit to win 101-97. It also described how Mabrey built her scoring impact in the fourth quarter and provided additional shooting detail, including her efficiency from distance.
As the Washington Post summarized, Mabrey was 9 of 12 from 3-point range, a conversion rate that helped the Tempo close the gap quickly and continue scoring even as Connecticut attempted to adjust. The paper also credited her with four rebounds and four assists, suggesting that her influence extended beyond shooting to playmaking and additional possessions.
Even with Mabrey’s dominance, the Tempo’s ability to maintain a high offensive pace mattered. The Sun’s halftime lead reflected what had worked earlier—yet the postgame reality was that Connecticut could not sustain the same defensive pressure. Toronto’s second-half scoring burst, combining long-range makes with contributions from Fagbenle and Conde, made it difficult for the Sun to regain control once the deficit reversed.
Mabrey’s night also sits inside a broader understanding of her season and career trajectory. Yahoo Sports, in a discussion of the WNBA All-Star ballot process, highlighted Mabrey as a guard producing at a high level, including mention that she has been averaging 21.2 points per game and has posted elite marks such as a 45.9% field goal rate alongside strong 3-point performance. The outlet also pointed to her ability to tie the league’s single-game record for threes by referencing her nine-make performance in a recent win.
Those season-level indicators help frame why Friday’s performance carried special weight. While any career high is noteworthy, Mabrey’s ability to reach it in a game against an opponent as established as Connecticut speaks to her capacity to elevate when stakes rise. For Toronto, the win was more than a single victory—it was a statement that the team can generate game-changing momentum and that their newest star can transform a deficit into a lead with one quarter of extraordinary output.
For Connecticut, the result was another tough step in a prolonged skid, but it also offers clarity about what went wrong: a first-half advantage that could not survive the second-half adjustment, and a closing stretch where Mabrey’s shooting repeatedly forced the Sun to answer without gaining ground. With the Tempo pulling out the 101-97 win and Mabrey etching her name into the record books, the night will be remembered not only for the score, but for the style and the timing of a comeback fueled by record-setting 3-point shooting.
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