![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/7d859129e62cb8619ca23fd9d83c5c5bfcb87f56c05160e4e534233065c9c572-300x200.jpg\")
Toronto Tempo’s Marina Mabrey (centre) drives between Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (left) and Makayla Timpson (21) during second half WNBA basketball action in Toronto on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chris YoungTORONTO \u2014 Injuries and losses piled up in the second half of the Toronto Tempo\u2019s first season in the WNBA, but the players felt fortunate to be part of the team\u2019s debut and feel the fans\u2019 support.\nThe players and head coach Sandy Brondello reflected on the team\u2019s first season Saturday after concluding an 11-33 campaign with a loss to the Connecticut Sun two days earlier
\n\u201cThe thing that you will never forget is that you were part of this first season, this first team for Canada,\u201d Tempo point guard Julie Allemand said. \u201cIt\u2019s a special thing, and that\u2019s the thing that I want to keep in mind.\u201d
\nAfter opening with a promising 7-5 start, standout guard Brittney Sykes went down with a nagging left foot injury.
\nSatou Sabally (soft tissue) then missed significant time, as did first-round draft pick Kiki Rice (ankle), Marie Conde (back), Allemand (left ankle, headaches) and Marina Mabrey (hip, neck and right adductor).
\nToronto finished the season with eight straight losses and just a single win in its final 21 games.
\n\u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s hard to win when your best players are not playing in this league,\u201d Brondello said. \u201cBut overall, I think it was a good experience for some of the others, and we get to evaluate them and compete; it\u2019s the very best day-in, day-out.
\n\u201cI\u2019m always going to look at it as a half-full glass, you know, where we can continue to grow.\u201d
\nBrondello, a two-time WNBA championship coach with Phoenix (2014) and New York (2024), failed to guide a team into the playoffs for the first time in her WNBA coaching career.
\n\u201cOnce you get over the disappointment of not achieving your goals this year, you have to get excited about next year and the kind of players that we want to bring in,\u201d Brondello said. \u201cThat excites me.
\n\u201cEvery team\u2019s going to be (pursuing free agents), so it\u2019s going to be a challenge there. But hopefully, we show everyone what Toronto is about.
\n\u201cOur fans are supportive. I think we have great ownership, and I think everyone loves Toronto, so we have to kind of sell that to upcoming free agency as well.\u201d
\nBrondello and general manager Monica Wright Rogers want to add defensive-minded talent through free agency and April\u2019s draft. The Tempo surrendered a league-worst 94.4 points per game.
\nThe lottery for the 2027 draft is in November. Six-foot-two USC guard JuJu Watkins is projected to be the first overall selection.
\nWright Rogers and her players will sell the city to prospective free agents.
\n\u201cThe amount of diversity was refreshing,\u201d centre Isabelle Harrison said. \u201cThe city itself has a lot of special people. You definitely feel the love here.\u201d
\nThe players lauded fan support and destinations like Toronto Island and its restaurants as attractions for potential future teammates.
\nThe Tempo\u2019s home court was the 8,200-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. The Tempo played two home games at Scotiabank Arena, the home of the NBA\u2019s Raptors, plus two games in Montreal and two in Vancouver.
\n\u201cSeeing how many girls in Canada it impacted, that was always a great feeling,\u201d said Mabrey, who matched a WNBA single-game record with 53 points against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 25.
\n\u201cObviously I got some little things here and there from the fans that I thought were cool, but it\u2019s always like the exchange of the friendship bracelets and stuff that I think is fun and a way to interact.\u201d
\nThis report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2026.<\/p>\n