The Toronto Tempo finally put an end to their 12-game losing streak on Friday, beating the Portland Fire 82-79 in an absolute nail-biter in Vancouver.
We break down the good, bad, and outlook from this game.
The Good
Losing streak is over!
And this one definitely wasn’t easy. Portland came out firing and built a 13-point lead in the first quarter, but Toronto slowly clawed their way back, tying the game 44-44 before halftime.
Isabelle Harrison had a monster game, finishing with a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double. She also came up huge when it mattered, hitting a floater to give Toronto the lead with less than two minutes remaining before knocking down two free throws to help seal the win.
Kiki Rice continued her strong play as well, tying her career high with 19 points while shooting an incredibly efficient 7-of-9 from the field. Harrison, Rice, and Laura Juskaite combined for 59 of Toronto’s 82 points.
And Canada showed up. The 12,414 fans at Rogers Arena were loud, especially down the stretch. Sandy Brondello said “We felt the support. When we made big plays it was hard for me even to talk in some of the time-outs there.”
The Bad
Just when it felt like the team was healing and some of the injuries subsided, both Brittney Sykes and Aneesah Morrow had to leave the game.
A minute and a half into the game, Sykes took an awkward step and appeared to re-injure her left foot. She looked frustrated and could be seen kicking the wall on the way back to the locker room. Early In the second quarter, Morrow went down with a left knee injury and had to be helped off the court. Neither player returned.
Toronto was already without Marina Mabrey, Nyara Sabally, and Marina Conde, meaning the Tempo somehow finished this game missing five key players.
The Outlook
It’s hard to know why the Tempo have been so injury-prone this season. Sometimes it’s just bad luck, but with nine players from the inaugural roster missing multiple games this season, it’s clear something the organization will want look at closely.
Pulling off a W with so many players out says a lot about the tenacity, drive, and grit of the team. The bench stepped up, the remaining starters took on bigger roles, and somehow they got it done.
Next up is a huge challenge; Las Vegas Aces on Sunday in Vancouver. The Aces are 25-13, have already secured a playoff spot, and beat Toronto 109-83 in their first meeting this season.
Toronto will once again be seriously shorthanded, with Sykes, Morrow, Mabrey, Conde, and Sabally all ruled out. But after Friday night, it’s hard to completely count them out.
With another loud Vancouver crowd behind them and the losing streak finally in the rear-view mirror, maybe the Tempo have one more upset in them.
The road-weary Toronto Tempo was unable to keep up with the Portland Fire and fell 97 – 83, and extending their losing streak to eight games.
We break down the Good, Bad, and Outlook from this game.
The Good
Admittedly, this was a tough game for Tempo fans to watch and we wish there was more good to take from this game.
Nevertheless, there were some small bright spots. This includes newly acquired, Aneesah Morrow. Morrow is every bit as advertised. Every time she was on the floor, she brought refreshing energy and tenacity that this team sorely needs. Even in a bench role, she led the team in rebounds and shot the ball efficiently for 11 points. She was also able to finish inside with strength.
We also want to give a nod to Laura Juškaitė and Nyara Sabally. No, neither shot the ball efficiently but they demonstrated their creativity and willingness to switch it up on offense. When the Fire defense doubled the ball handler, Sabally slipped past the defenders to get open near the free throw line or cut to the basket to attack inside.
Meanwhile, Juškaitė was arguably the only Tempo player who played with patience and always tried to make the right next play to help the Tempo offense.
This trio, along with Julie Allemand and Maria Conde, also spearheaded the only stretch in the middle of the 4th quarter where the Tempo played with hunger, determination, and urgency. Yes, we realize the Fire had probably let go of the rope by that point, but the Tempo have to find a way to bottle up the type of hustle and competitiveness demonstrated in that stretch for the team to find their way out of this losing streak.
The Bad
The broadcast said it the best, Portland looks like they were having fun; the Tempo did not. Let’s be honest. The Tempo looked road-weary and deflated from this ongoing losing streak. And it showed on the court. The Tempo missed a lot of layups, free throws, and 3-pointers. The passing was flat and there were a lot of isolation plays from individual players, leading to poor shots.
With the Tempo offense struggling, the Fire took full advantage. Missed shots led to easy run outs by the Fire who absolutely thrive in these types of situations.
The Tempo also looked lethargic on the defensive end. The Fire must have sensed that Mabrey did not look 100 percent healthy out there and made her work on defense. This led to open stepback 3s and blow bys.
The Tempo further struggled to handle the speed of Carla Leite. Simply put, she carved our perimeter defenders and left them in the dust, leading to easy layups and passes to open shooters. She was also deadly from 3 and shot a whopping 15 of 17 from the free throw line. As a result, Leite scored a game high 27 points.
The Outlook
The road does not get easier for the Tempo. Their five-game road trip continues and the team travels to Atlanta to play the Dream next. The Dream have taken all three of the matchups so far this season, and most of those games have resulted in one controversy or another.
The Dream currently hold the record for the fourth best team in the WNBA and feature a potent combination of star players, including Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese, and Brionna Jones, who recently returned from injury and is one of the best bigs in the game.
The cards are certainly stacked against the Tempo. But, we are going to lean into Florence and the Machine when they sing “it’s always darkest before the dawn”. Shake it out, Tempo and Tempo fans. Let’s regroup and come back with some competitive spirit in Atlanta.
The Toronto Tempo’s game against the Portland Fire on Saturday wasn’t quite the bounce back they’d imagined. The Tempo dropped their second game in a row, losing to the Fire 99 – 80.
While the result is disappointing for us Tempo fans, this game did more to shed light on the fact that Portland might really have a better team than we gave them credit for going into the season.
We break down the Good, the Bad, and the Outlook.
The Good
Admittedly, this game did not feature many things on the “good” side for the Tempo. The one bright spot was rookie Kiki Rice who contributed 19 points on very efficient 8 – 11 shooting. Kiki confirmed what she’s already shown us – that she’s lethal in transition. Whether on her own steals or a Tempo stop, Kiki’s fastbreaks showed off her strength and angles on the layup, or the right read to a teammate.
In this game, we also saw her knack to never give up on plays, finding the ball on two separate broken plays, including one where she missed a jumper, got the offensive rebound, then gets fouled for two free throws.
In the first half, Marina Mabrey looked like she was going to be another bright spot in the game. Mabrey scored 15 of her 19 points and dished out 7 of her 8 assists in the first half. With a 44 – 44 half time score it was looking like it was going to be an exciting game – until the Tempo’s wheels fell.
The Bad
Unfortunately, the Tempo were not particularly impressive on either side of the court. On offense, the Tempo relied too much on the 3-ball, which they made only six in twenty-five attempts and shot 24%. Meanwhile, Portland hit eleven of their twenty-three 3’s, shooting 48% from 3.
On defense, the Tempo’s lackadaisical defensive intensity and energy was evident. Portland created consistent advantage running their pick-and-roll resulting in easy layups or kickouts to one of their wing players if help defense came in from the Tempo. They ran it so many times that it felt like groundhog day – it worked every single time.
Portland’s bigs also bullied us this game. Whether it was Emily Engstler, Nyadiew Puoch, Luisa Geiselsoder, Serah Williams, or Megan Gustafson, they simply outmuscle us in the low post or going to the basket and it put the Tempo on their heels all game long.
Lastly, our transition defense was also notably poor. In total, the Tempo had 17 turnovers and Portland scored 28 points from those turnovers. To compare, the Tempo caused 14 turnovers and only got 13 points off those turnovers.
And this is where we have to tip our hat off to Portland. While this team does not feature a lot of household names, they have carved out an identity in a short amount of time. This team is already known for their athleticism, rabid defense, and constant ball pressure. They have already beaten the New York Liberty twice and are quickly changing perceptions of what they can accomplish this season. Simply put, the Fire are not going to be pushovers this season and the Tempo saw that firsthand.
Up next for Toronto is the Chicago Sky. Currently, Chicago ranks second in lowest opponent field goal percentage, which means the Tempo are up against another strong defensive squad.
Since their disastrous 2025 season, the Sky have dramatically changed their roster this offseason with both brilliant and headscratching moves. One thing is for certain. By getting players such as Skyler Diggins, Azura Stevens, and Natasha Cloud, the Sky clearly want to win now. Unfortunately, during their strong start to the season, their young and upcoming star, Rickea Jackson, went down with a torn ACL and is now out for the season. Since that injury, the Sky have also endured back-to-back losses.
Both teams will be looking to take advantage of the other and get a win Wednesday night. Fortunately for the Tempo, the Sky’s offense ranks near the bottom of the league. If the Tempo can ratchet up their defensive intensity and execution, they might be able to frustrate the Sky like the Fire frustrated us on Saturday. More importantly, the Tempo will need their “million-dollar backcourt” of Slim and Mabrey (again, thoughts on Fast & Furious as a nickname?) to perform at a higher level to overcome the Sky.
The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire will officially kick off their inaugural seasons this week. While both teams will often be mentioned together under the same breath as the two new expansion teams, the paths that they have taken to building their respective teams couldn’t be more different.
What holds for the future of these two expansion franchises? We break down the dramatically different approaches these two teams took to building their teams this offseason and their best and worst case outlooks for this season (and into the future).
Portland Fire
The Portland Fire began their team-building process by selecting mostly young players with potential in the expansion draft, bookended by Bridget Carleton and Carla Leite (who is also young but showed in her rookie season that she is a starter-level point guard worthy of more minutes and responsibility).
Next, in the rookie draft, the Fire further drafted Iyana Martin Carrion from Spain who is slated to not come over to the WNBA until next season. They also drafted Frieda Buhner, another international player in the second round.
For their inaugural season, the Fire will be looking for their younger players to develop and hope that some will have breakthrough seasons. Carla Leite, for example, will have an opportunity to put up big numbers and command the offense from day one. Nyadiew Puoch, a first-round pick in 2024, spent the last couple of seasons playing in the WNBL in Australia where she impressed with her exceptional athleticism and length. She will have lots of runway to grow her game in Portland. Finally, look for Sarah Ashlee Barker and Luisa Geiselsoder to take on bigger roles and elevate their production.
Realistically though, the Fire are playing for the future. Some have even wondered if this is the team’s way of posturing to get to the number 1 draft pick in either the 2027 and/or the 2028 WNBA draft with the chance of drafting Juju Watkins in ‘27 and/or Sarah Strong in ‘28. If the Fire land the number one pick in either season, the opportunity to draft a franchise-changing player will make any and all losses this season worth the patient approach.
Portland’s Worst Case Scenario
If some of the Fire’s young talent translates their potential into productivity and the team is not as bad as other teams that might also be playing for the future (see Connecticut Sun) OR if the draft lottery Gods are not on their side, Portland might not end up winning the Juju Watkins derby. While there is plenty of talent available in the 2027 WNBA Draft, not getting Juju would be a massive disappointment.
Toronto Tempo
The Toronto Tempo, on the other hand, have taken swing after swing in this very short offseason. This includes the signing of coach Sandy Brondello – one of the winningest coaches in WNBA history – months before the CBA was signed.
In the rookie draft, Toronto selected Kiki Rice with the 6th pick, who played a huge role in helping UCLA win the NCAA National Championship only a week before the draft.
The Tempo didn’t stop there. They filled the roster with even more veterans in Temi Fagbenle, Isabelle Harrison, and Canadian basketball royalty, Kia Nurse.
For any Tempo fans that wanted to hit the inaugural season ground running, Toronto did just that.
Toronto’s Best Case Scenario
While it would be unrealistic to expect Toronto to compete for a championship, the Tempo have made it clear that they want to compete and make the playoffs in their inaugural season. They will certainly have a chance but the league is deep and the road won’t be easy. Judging by the first two preseason games (and take that with a big grain of salt), a lot of work is needed for this team to come together and gel, especially on offense. However, Toronto has the talent to be competitive every night. More importantly, if the attention received thus far has been any indication, this team has a chance to capture the hearts and minds of fans across the country.
In the future, the infrastructure that the Tempo are building, along with the success in a market like Toronto, might also help to lure a marquee free agent in the next few seasons.
Toronto’s Worst Case Scenario
All the big swings that Toronto also comes with some significant risk. Yes, both Sykes and Mabrey are top-30 players, but can you win meaningful games against top tier teams with a good (potentially very good) but not great team?
If not, the Tempo run the risk of being a team stuck in WNBA purgatory (i.e. the middle of the standings, where you aren’t good enough to win a championship and not bad enough to be able to have high draft picks in future rookie drafts).
We also wonder if the big contracts given to Sykes, Mabrey, and Fagbenle can result in positive or equal value in the future if the Tempo looks to trade these players.
From a future standpoint, Portland may have positioned themselves into a cleaner path towards finding long-term success while there is real risk of swinging and missing from Toronto.
Nevertheless, this is year 1 of a long and prosperous franchise. Rather than dwelling on future strategy, we urge fans (especially sickos like us) to enjoy the ride this season!
