Photo credit: Justine Willard
In trade-deadline acquisition Aneesah Morrow’s debut, it was the Toronto Tempo’s other frontcourt players that stole the show.
Nyara Sabally scored 22 points, Maria Conde had 17, and the pair went 9-of-17 from three but it wasn’t enough as the Golden State Valkyries won 92-82, swept the season series against the Tempo and handed them their seventh straight loss at the Chase Center on Tuesday.
Morrow’s first game with the Tempo was disjointed but also showed intriguing glimpses of how she could help remedy the team’s shortcomings. She finished with eight points, five rebounds and one block in 16 minutes.
In her introductory press conference pregame on Tuesday, Morrow was all smiles. She knew the primary reason she was there. General manager Monica Wright Rogers stated it right out of the gate.
“Of course, I’m here to rebound,” Morrow said.
The Tempo ranked 13th in rebounds per game (31.2) and were 14th in rebounding percentage (47.4) entering play Tuesday night. Morrow is averaging 8.9 rebounds per game and led the league in defensive rebounding rate (31.9%) last year during her rookie season. Easy calculus right?
It wasn’t in her first game, as Toronto still faced a minus-13 deficit on the glass.
But the Tempo didn’t send out a 2028 second-round pick and the rights to Russian forward Maria Kliundikova for just a rebounder. Morrow also averages 11.6 points per game, and her first contributions to the Tempo came as an opportunistic scorer.
First, she caught at the top of the floor with space and knocked down a triple for her first points in a Tempo jersey. After Kiki Rice lost the ball under the Valkyries hoop, but deflected an ensuing pass back to Morrow, who caught it with a clear lane and took it up for an and-1 over the late-recovering Valkyries defender.
The scoring outburst helped put the Tempo ahead late in the first quarter. They built on that in the second, as Conde knocked down all three of her first-quarter triples in short order. On the first, Sabally drove the ball on a broken play, turned the corner and dished to Conde, who caught and cashed from the corner.
Morrow’s first rebound was typical. She leapt after a missed 3 and ripped down the contested board. Before the game, she spoke about her passion for rebounding. How that helps the rest of her game flow — into hit ahead passes better setting up her teammates, or easier scoring opportunities for herself.
“I just get excited … I feel like that’s where I get my momentum from … rebounding is not easy, but for me, I’d say that’s the easiest way to get a bucket,” Morrow said.
That proved true after she corralled her second board and took it hard at Kayla Thornton the other way, spinning into a bully drive and scooping the ball into the basket.
“Just being able to be a mismatch nightmare … being able to be that three-level scorer that we need,” Morrow said.
Morrow was tied for second on the Tempo with eight points at half. Sabally also had eight on a pair of triples and a clean mid-range make off a slip, while Conde had 11 and was 3-of-6 from long range. And while Morrow got beat off the dribble a couple times, she also stuck on Veronica Burton’s hip on a drive, bodying her up and meeting her at the summit with a hard swat.
The second half started worse, as the Tempo immediately surrendered their 42-41 lead on a Thornton triple. Morrow appeared eager to make an impact, but maybe a little too eager. She called for the ball off a pick-and-pop, jittering her hands, visibly itching to get the shot off.
Julie Allemand ran another pick-and-pop with Izzy Harrison instead, who swung to Morrow, who immediately let the shot fly with zero hesitation. It was short off the front rim. Soon after, she called for the ball in the paint, but made too aggressive a move into Thornton and caught her in the face with an elbow for a flagrant one, earning her a seat on the bench. Understandable ups and downs in the sophomore’s Tempo debut.
But Sandy Brondello has been vocal about the Tempo’s lack of aggression, physicality and toughness.
“I think we’re behind in our toughness. I don’t think we’re physically tough,” said Brondello at the teams first practice out of the all-star break.
There were areas to nitpick, but Morrow brought physicality in spades.
Tempo-killer Janelle Salaun banked in a shot to put the Valkyries up eight late in the third, but Marina Mabrey kept the ball moving, Laura Juskaite was active as ever, Conde kept drilling 3s, and Sabally brought the physicality, too, keeping the score close.
That was until the Tempo fell back into bad habits. They turned the ball over three times in the first three minutes of the final frame, helping fuel a 12-0 Valkyries run. Salaun and Kia Stokes filled up the basket.
Brondello spoke about wanting to keep it “as simple as we can,” regarding Morrow’s play in her debut. She certainly did, grabbing boards, playing within the flow of the offence and making plays when the opportunity presented itself.
She showed flashes of promise in areas the Tempo need to improve, and there’s still plenty to build on as they continue their road trip against the Portland Fire on Thursday.