TORONTO — Toronto had yet to see the Tempo drain their first pre-season bucket, but when a pass from Lexie Held reached Kia Nurse a step outside the three-point line, the stadium was ready.
A collective gasp and then a roar. The Toronto stadium knew exactly how to respond.
“I will not remember this game because of basketball. I will remember because of the crowd and how they loved us tonight,” Tempo wing Laura Juškaitė said.
For fans witnessing the first WNBA season to come to Canada, Wednesday’s 83-78 loss to the Connecticut Sun wasn’t a throwaway pre-season contest. It was what the Tempo’s first pre-season game was supposed to be about: Enthusiasm for the new team and a first look at what they’d been building at training camp.
“I heard it was going to be a sold-out crowd (8,210 fans were in attendance), but they were like super active just from warm-up. So, it was really nice to kind of have them rallying behind us in a full-scale,” Held said.
“It was not beautiful game, but the crowd obviously didn't care. They cheered us up.”
Every Tempo player considered available to play did. Head coach Sandy Brondello put an emphasis on giving each player a chance to “go out there and feel comfortable.” She wanted the pre-season game to be an opportunity for some of the younger players on the training camp roster to see their first minutes in the league.
“What a special moment for them just to play. This is the best league in the world,” Brondello said before the game. “This is pretty special; this is what everyone dreams of doing.”
Rookie Kiki Rice was the biggest name to log her first minutes. Cheers exploded when she touched the ball, and with her fourth shot attempt, the youngest face of the franchise clocked her first professional points with a three-pointer in the second quarter.
The 22-year-old, who finished her college season less than a month ago, struggled in the first half and, as coach Brondello put it after the game, this pre-season contest served as her “welcome to the W” moment.
“She had a bit of a tough start,” Brondello said. “Just how much more athletic and more physical it is at this level. But she's a quick learner. I thought the second half was way better for her.
“Every player needs to go through it. They'll be better the second time around. I'm not worried about Kiki. We believe in Kiki. We know she's going to be a great player in this league.”
Brondello’s coaching staff wasn’t looking for a mistake-free 40 minutes. They wanted instead to see if the players who’d spent the last week running through drills and learning new systems had grasped what they’d been practising.
“They had good intentions, sometimes not always good execution. But it starts at that. You're competing, you're playing in the right way. Rebounding was a big concern for us tonight. We have to be a great rebounding team, and we're capable of it.”
Lexie Held impressed at point guard
Brondello and general manager Monica Wright Rogers have been talking about Held’s ball control and playmaking since she was chosen in the expansion draft. Though with just a single season in the league, her skills at point guard have yet to have a real chance to shine on the floor.
On Wednesday, however, Held had her moment. The 26-year-old scored a game-high 21 points — nine of which fell in the first frame and five that came as threes. She didn't lack any confidence with the ball in her hand. Held was intense but controlled as she drained threes or adjusted to the defence and fought her way straight to the basket.
“She's feisty, isn't she? She's good. She got early pick-ups. You see how aggressive she was in the backcourt. They started really big with some of their players, but she doesn't take a back step. But scoring too, she's got a knack for that,” Brondello said.
“She's a three-point shooter. She can get to the rim. She can play one-on-one. So really, really nice game for her, just coming in with confidence.”
Stacked with leaders
Veteran stars Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes were kept out of the game with minor day-to-day injuries, but that didn’t stop them from contributing off the floor. During a timeout in the second quarter, Mabrey stepped up to lead the huddle. It was a new, direct side to her leadership style that hadn’t come out as much at camp.
Meanwhile, Nurse took on a similar role while on the court. As the Tempo shuffled through various line combinations, the seven-year vet found herself on the floor with groupings of younger players on multiple occasions. With every stoppage, Nurse took a moment to draw in her teammates and give instructions.
Now that Toronto has had its first taste of Tempo action, fans are sure to want even more on May 8.
“We hope it to be even louder,” Brondello said of the May 8 season opener. “That's a real game. So we want to be super competitive and start off on a front foot.”
