TORONTO — Canadian history was made on Friday as Brittney Sykes — who’s better known in the basketball world as “Slim” — scored the Toronto Tempo’s first basket from a step inside the three-point line.
The ball rattled in, but not a soul could hear its ugly descent through the hoop as the entire stadium erupted in what would become the first of multiple deafening reactions Friday night.
Cheers reached a new audacity again in the last frame, as Canada’s team — which had been trailing for most of the 40 minutes — started to make a run at the Washington Mystics’ lead. When Marina Mabrey drained a three with less than five minutes to go and pushed them ahead by one to force a Mystics timeout, the Tempo crowd exploded. What has been rising for two years had hit a new level of anticipation inside of Coca-Cola Coliseum.
A sold-out crowd of 8,210 fans began buzzing well before tip-off, and didn’t stop until the tight 68-65 Tempo loss that came down to the final minute was official.
While the team had some nerves to shake off in the home opener, Canada’s fans were entirely ready for what was in store.
They rose to the occasion from the very first notes of the national anthem. As the players in their bordeaux jerseys stood with their arms around each other at the free-throw line, the sold-out crowd — joined by Kia Nurse, who was also mouthing the words at the end of the team line — belted out O Canada. That support persisted through tip-off.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who was in town to see history made, met with journalists at a roundtable discussion in Toronto to talk about big, historic moments like that one.
“It'll be emotional tonight when I see that tip off and see this team become Canada's team,” Engelbert said ahead of the game.
“I'm excited, particularly here, because you're going to have the whole country behind you.”
A tale of two teams building identity
History was the first priority, but now, one game in, it’s all about basketball. And the Tempo’s season-opening loss to the Mystics revealed some problem areas the patchworked roster now has to work through.
“It was a very ugly game,” head coach Sandy Brondello said to start off the post-game press conference. “Hopefully they get way prettier than that as we move forward. Both teams have a lot of work to do.”
The Mystics are a young roster who, like the Tempo, will use these first few games to find an identity and develop chemistry.
The Tempo’s shooting was off in the first half as good attempts didn’t convert or worse, bounced out before completion. The hosts finished with a 39.7 true shooting percentage and struggled offensively overall. Assists were scarce, with only eight made by the Tempo over the course of the game. Scoring came mainly from Sykes and Mabrey, and although all 12 available players hit the court, seven made four or less field goal attempts.
Mabrey, the team's on-court leader, was not impressed.
“We don’t want a steady diet of that, though. Like I’m taking step back 30-footers and Slim’s taking layups with a lot of people trying to block it.
“I don’t know if in the middle of the offence that’s really what we want. We want to clean that up and get better shots for us.”
Turnovers, another key focus of Brondello’s after the pre-season showings, caused some issues as well. The Tempo committed 16 and forced their opponent to make 18, but Toronto only converted 18 points off their efforts, nine of which came in the last four turnovers they forced.
Millionaire connection
Friday’s game marks the first time Sykes and Mabrey have shared a WNBA court. The two, who grew up playing together and admit to loathing having to match up, gave a first glimpse at what the Tempo will get out of the league’s first-ever millionaire backcourt.
Mabrey suffered a few unlucky bounces while shooting in the first half, but the chemistry she’s building with Sykes is unmissable. Her impact came from the foul line as she made 12 free throws, including the eight straight she drilled in the first half.
By the third quarter, she started making contributions from across the court and fired in three from behind the arc for a game-high 27 points as she's started to find her usual shooting rhythm.
On the other side, it was Sykes' feisty defence and relentless offensive effort that brought her to the line and had the 10-year veteran shooting free throws for the Tempo’s first ever lead part-way through the second quarter. The defensive powerhouse led the Tempo in steals with three.
“I think we both work really well off each other, and I think that as we continue to build chemistry and get to know each other a little better on the court, we’ll be able to drive, kick to each other, and find some ghost screens,” Mabrey said.
With their coaching during pre-season timeouts and vocal encouragement in training camp, Sykes and Mabrey have already stepped up as key veteran leaders. The Tempo’s success this year will be largely dependent on how quickly the stars can build chemistry and develop the culture.
“We have to be uncomfortable before we can get comfortable, and we need the veterans to help. We have five new players who have never played in the WNBA before, so every experience will help them,” Brondello said.
Rookie takeover
For Kiki Rice, Friday’s opener felt especially like home. The UCLA guard lined up against a Mystic squad featuring three of her former college teammates: Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalic and Michaela Onyenwere.
It was a game for firsts, and not just because of the history being made in Toronto. Across both squads, there are 14 rostered rookies for the 2026 season.
On top of the international players Toronto snagged through the expansion draft and after training-camp contracts, the Tempo also kept two rookies drafted at the end of April.
As Toronto's sixth-overall pick, Rice is an essential franchise-building block for the new team, but second-round selection Teonni Key was less of an obvious addition. The youngster from the Kentucky Wildcats brings critical height to the guard-heavy roster, something she showed early as she battled in the paint on Friday.
Mystics rookie Cassandre Prosper helped make the moment even more historic for the hosts. The Montreal native scored the first basket of the game, a layup that cemented the evening as entirely Canadian.
