Marina Mabrey tied the WNBA scoring record with 53 points; Tempo rout Sparks | Basketball

Toronto’s Mabrey tied A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage for the league scoring lead in her team’s 125-97 victory.

Marina Mabrey tied the WNBA single-game record scoring 53 points behind 9-of-18 3-point shooting in the Toronto Tempo’s 125-97 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.

Mabrey had already tied the league record of 3 when he hit nine in a June 19 win over Connecticut, setting a then-high 37 points.

She went through a third in Thursday’s tournament with a 39, then moved up 14 more to join A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage for the record.

Toronto (9-9) never trailed, setting the tone early with a 19-6 run in less than four minutes behind triples from Mabrey, Maria Conde and Julie Allemand. Tempo’s lead grew to 35 points from there, as Toronto shot 20-42 from beyond the arc as a team.

Conde finished 3-of-5 from beyond the arc en route to 13 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Allemand was a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range en route to 13 points and a career-high 14 assists. Laura Juskaite added 10 points and a game-high 12 boards off the bench.

Brey’s nine 3-pointers, meanwhile, were as many as Los Angeles (8-9) made as a team. The Sparks went 11-of-38 from the outside.

Beyond the trio of Nneka Ogwumike, Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell, the Sparks created little offense from the other end.

Ogwumike and Hamby each finished with 21 points, and Burrell added 17. Ogwumike also grabbed seven rebounds, and Hamby grabbed a team-high nine.

Starting Los Angeles backcourt Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins were both in trouble, and the Sparks bench was without perimeter player Cameron Brink due to an ankle injury.

The Sparks entered Thursday’s contest after splitting two with Tempo last month in Los Angeles, each a championship game.

But with longtime leading scorer Kelsey Plum sidelined with a leg injury in New York’s win on Sunday, the Sparks jumped out early and never recovered.