The Toronto Tempo’s first-ever Commissioner’s Cup run is officially underway.
And the in-season tournament got off to a rough start for the Tempo (5-5), losing 97-82 to the New York Liberty (6-4) at the Barclays Center on Wednesday night.
It was a strong start for the Tempo, building a 20-17 lead by committee after seven different players made a field goal. All of which was necessary to overcome a strong opening frame from the Liberty’s Jonquel Jones, who was 5-of-6 for 12 points — with four rebounds — after just 10 minutes. Marine Johannes was the only other New York player to hit a field goal in the first, as the rest of the team went 0-for-11.
Jones was “held” to just five points in the second quarter, but the Liberty were still able to jump ahead 40-34 at the break after the Tempo’s offence went ice-cold. Toronto made just two shots in the first 7.5 minutes of the frame, giving up a 15-2 run as a result, before a pair of Sykes driving finishes through contact stopped the bleeding. The Tempo nearly had that deficit down to just three points as Laura Juskaite jetted up the court to hit a right-corner triple at the buzzer, but the make was overturned upon official review. Instead, the Tempo went into halftime down six points on the heels of a 7-of-21 (33 per cent) shooting quarter.
Underscoring that turnaround for the Liberty was the work they were doing on the glass, collecting seven offensive rebounds — led by Jones with three, as part of a double-double that was racked up in just 14 minutes — for 10 second-chance points. Not just plus-four at halftime, but enough to make up a quarter of New York’s scoring.
And unfortunately for Toronto, it was only a matter of time before Breanna Stewart really got involved following a 1-of-7 showing from the field in the first half. The Liberty star first backed down Sykes before banking in a turnaround jumper, and then rejected a handoff from Jones into a cutting layup right at the hoop. The second make gave New York its first double-digit lead of the night, forcing an immediate timeout by Sandy Brondello.
The reset did little to quell the Liberty’s momentum, as a Rice air-ball on one end was met by Johannes triple the other way after the Tempo broke down defensively and left the guard wide-open above the break.
New York wound up scoring 30 points in the frame, even as Jones was held without a point in the third, earning a 12-point lead headed into the fourth. Toronto’s deficit would’ve been larger had Mabrey not caught fire, going 6-of-7 in the frame for 15 points. Her final make of the frame came after attacking a closeout on the left wing before settling for an elbow pull-up, cutting the Tempo’s deficit to 70-58.
And although the Tempo were able to rally a bit further, cutting the deficit down to nine points — after Julie Allemand and Kiki Rice connected on a pair of breakaway layups — with just over four minutes to go, that was as close as they got. Toronto would score just eight points from that point on.
What is the Commissioner’s Cup?
For those uninitiated, the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup is an annual in-season competition (since 2021), with each team playing for the right to compete for $500,000 dollars in the Cup Championship game. After Cup play concludes (June 1-17), the top teams from the East and West will compete in the final on July 1. Aside from personal bonuses and team glory, each win during Cup play equals $3,000 to a team’s local non-profit of choice (losses equal $1,000), with an additional $10,000 going to the winners — the Tempo partnered with Lay-Up youth basketball, a Greater Toronto Area-based organization.
Sandy Brondello, who made her return to New York for the first time since joining the Tempo, previously led the Liberty to the Commissioner’s Cup championship in 2023 before winning a WNBA title in 2024.
Up next
The Tempo return home to host the Chicago Sky on Sunday as Commissioner’s Cup play continues. It’ll be a swift rematch after the Tempo put up a season-high 111 points in a win over the Sky less than two weeks ago, as part of what’s now a five-game skid for Chicago.
Toronto TempoToronto Tempo 82 – 97 New York LibertyNew York Liberty
Nyara Sabally Nyara Sabally29 MIN, 11 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 5-10 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -24 +/-Maybe it was coming back to New York after starting her career there, or maybe it was taking on her older sister, but whatever the case, Nyara Sabally came to play on Wednesday. She immediately got involved offensively, working a nice pick-and-pop into a made jumper from just above the free-throw line. The younger Sabally then spotted up from above-the-break to splash a three — showing Liberty fans what her expanded game has to offer. On the other side, Sabally did well to eat a handful of Breanna Stewart drives, and snatch more rebounds than most others on the Tempo, but ultimately fell victim to Jonquel Jones the same as her teammates.
Laura Juskaite Laura Juskaite20 MIN, 8 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 3-9 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -21 +/-Wednesday was very much a good process bad outcome night for the Lithuanian rookie. Juskaite was moving well off the ball, but her stampede cuts weren’t materializing into quality looks as much as she would’ve liked and the Tempo would’ve wanted. And it really felt like tonight wasn’t her night when Juskaite was able to nail a fading three from the right corner at the halftime buzzer, only to be waived off after review.
Brittney Sykes Brittney Sykes34 MIN, 17 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 8-18 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -12 +/-Outside of a pair of physical drives in the second quarter, it was a sluggish night for the usually burst-y Slim. Her night began with a baseline drive into a contest take on Breanna Stewart that was swiftly sent into the stands, and it continued downhill from there. What really stood out was a noticeable amount of standing stagnant, unlike Sykes’ usual level of activity. First hovering in the dunker and ball-watching while a possession finds its way into a crowded left corner and leads to nothing. And then, on the heels of a Liberty timeout, Slim was caught sitting in the gap as Satou Sabally floated into the left corner for a wide-open three. Much of her production came late when the game felt out of reach.
Marina Mabrey Marina Mabrey26 MIN, 17 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 7-13 FG, 2-6 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -16 +/-After a slow shooting start, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week caught fire. Marina Mabrey showed off the full arsenal in the third, getting to the line, stepping inside the arc for a couple of pull-up twos and then two deep triples as part of 15 points in the quarter. It was a nice reward for Mabrey, who, despite opening the night shooting just 1-of-6, was applying plenty of pressure on New York with tough drives into the lane. Her lone make in the first half came after eating tons of contact from Marine Johannes and bursting through for a layup. All of which made it even more confusing that she saw the court for just one minute in the fourth.
Kiki Rice Kiki Rice23 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -4 +/-A mixed bag of a game for the rookie, who made up for a first half that was mostly remembered for three turnovers in as many minutes. Her second have was far more measured, thanks primarily to some strong work inside on both ends. Her transition attack was key in the Tempo’s (albeit failed) rally in the fourth quarter. But, as if the loss wasn’t bad enough, Rice exited the game late in the fourth after suffering what appeared to be a leg injury. She landed awkwardly after hitting the deck following a drive into Jonquel Jones, and hobbled off the court shortly after.
Maria Conde Maria Conde21 MIN, 7 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-After a rough stretch of games, it appears the Spaniard’s offence is returning to form. Her night began with a quick-trigger triple from the left wing, to which Conde followed up by attacking closeout from Satou Sabally to generate a pair of free throws.
Teonni Key Teonni Key9 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/-Garbage time.
Nikolina Milic Nikolina Milic8 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/-The bar is fairly low for Milic, who has been relegated to mostly spot minutes despite being one of the only healthy front-court players. Still, she was able to hit a pair of nifty inside looks, first flipping in a bucket over the taller Han Xu in the post, and then drilling a turnaround from the right baseline off a grendade-pass from Marina Mabrey.
Kia Nurse Kia Nurse4 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/-Just two stints of two minutes each in the opening half as part of a Tony Snell-line.
Julie Allemand Julie Allemand23 MIN, 7 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/-The veteran guard was easily the Tempo's most disruptive defender and was a key contributor in the fourth-quarter rally that brought what was a 21-point deficit down to just nine points for a brief period. Her steal after sprinting to cover multiple defenders before kicking it ahead to Kiki Rice, was one of the more inspiring plays from the Tempo. The continued hope is showing more of that aggression on offence.
Tima Pouye Tima Pouye3 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/-Garbage time.
Sandy Brondello Sandy BrondelloTrying to find ways to stop a much-larger Liberty team is no easy task, and that showed on Wednesday. Still, Marina Mabrey playing just one-minute in the fourth quarter after catching fire in the third is a decision that sticks out as one that Brondello probably would've liked back.
Things we saw
Jonquel Jones finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds on 9-of-14 shooting (4-of-7 from deep). The Tempo simply had no answer for the former league MVP.
Jones' hot start forced the Tempo to pack the paint more and the openings were quickly taken advantage of, as the Liberty drilled 11-of-23 triples after starting the game 3-of-9.
Hold your breath and pray that Kiki Rice's injury wasn't as serious as it initially looked.