Tempo looking to learn from season-opening loss

The Tempo plays host to the Seattle Storm on Wednesday

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Published May 12, 2026  •  Last updated 10 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Kiki Iriafen of the Washington Mystics controls the ball during the fourth quarter against Marina Mabrey (left) and Laura Juskaite of the Toronto Tempo at Coca-Cola Coliseum on May 8, 2026 in Toronto. Photo by Michael Chisholm /Getty Images

As memorable as that first game in team history was for a lot of reasons, the Toronto Tempo are looking forward to a much better overall game in their second kick at the can.

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And by better, we mean specifically from a results standpoint.

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No one was happy with the 68-65 loss to the visiting Washington Mystics in that opener, despite the historic status it had then and will for time immemorial.

The focus since that score became a final has been figuring out exactly where gains can be made, so that the final score on Wednesday night, when the Tempo plays host to the Seattle Storm, favours the home side.

Following are a few ways the team and head coach Sandy Brondello have come up with following tireless film watching and subsequent on-court tweaking since that opener:

PICK UP THE PACE

Video doesn’t lie, and the most excruciating part of watching themselves lose to the Washington Mystics was the snail-like pace in which the team got the ball up the court or established their respective positions to get into their offence.

“We were really, really slow,” Tempo forward Nyara Sabally said following practice Tuesday. “We felt fast, but clearly we weren’t. So it was good to see it because you don’t always feel the way it actually is.“

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Brondello echoed those comments a few minutes later when she took her turn in front of the media.

“It just seemed like everyone wanted to stay back and linger as we got the ball in,” Brondello said. “So, it’s like ‘No, our point guards are there. Everyone should be out and running.’ ”

Brondello said the slow starts had a ripple effect on the offence. It meant they weren’t taking advantage of their speed and it meant their opponent was set and waiting for them when they all finally arrived at the offensive end. It made them imminently more guardable and the proof was in the stunted offence the team played for the majority of that first game.

“It took us our of our flow a little bit,” Brondello explained. “I think we should score a lot more points in transition. And we’re capable of that.”

SHARE THE BALL, AND WHEN IT DOES COME YOUR WAY DON’T BE AFRAID TO SHOOT

Yes, the ball got a little sticky in the opener. It was moving, but it seemed to be moving primarily between two players in Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes, who combined to take 36 of the team’s 63 shots and accounted for 41 of the team’s 65 points.

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Now it’s no secret that Mabrey and Sykes are going to see a lot of the offence run through them, Mabrey in particular. But too much ball dominance is a bad thing. Mabrey and Sykes were even a little guilty themselves of throwing up prayers when the better option was looking for a better shot, but that too may have been a product of their teammates unwillingness to fire away. That only seven field goals were made by the entirety of the rest of the roster in that opener is something that can’t happen again. There are always going to be primary scorers but there have to complementary scorers as well if this team is to thrive.

COUNT ON SOME NATURAL IMPROVEMENT

Time together, and just time itself, is going to make this club better. In addition to being an expansion team with only a dozen or so practices together, a lack of basic familiarity was a detriment to the Tempo in that first game. It’s going to become less so as the schedule unfolds. Also gone in game two will be the natural jitters a first time brings about in most human beings. But that combination did not do the Tempo any favours in Game 1.

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The chemistry on this club is just a matter of time. It will get a huge boost when this team goes on the road for eight days and four games immediately following the Seattle game.

There’s nothing like time together in a hotel or a plane to build chemistry, and that will start to be evident on the floor.

HONE IN ON THAT BASKET

As far as shooting nights go, there is almost zero chance the second game can be as bad as the first. Chalk it up to jitters or unfamiliarity, but it can’t happen again. Brondello made a good point following practice Tuesday that the team has been practising at their home arena since the loss and that can only help a shooter’s confidence as they get familiar with the hoops and the general backgrounds. “You want to get used to the rims and just the surroundings too,” she said. “The depth of where the seats are. You just want them to be comfortable.”

As a team, the Tempo shot 27% from the field and just 20% from distance. Those numbers will come up. It would be very difficult for them to go down.

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STAY AGGRESSIVE DEFENSIVELY

It didn’t always work in their favour on opening night, but this is a team built to score off takeaways, and the only way to get takeaways is to be aggressive. The Tempo are built for this, starting with Sykes, who exudes confidence and puts fear in any opponent who has the audacity to put the ball on the deck with Sykes within reach. She’s not the only one in the lineup. Look for Lithuanian forward Laura Juskaite to amp up her tenacity as she figures out just how physical she can be in the WNBA. This team was created with defence in mind, and it’s going to be the reason they win games more often than not.

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