The Los Angeles Sparks walked into Toronto on Thursday still buzzing from that comeback win over the Liberty. They walked out having given up 125 points and watching a career night for the ages from the other side.
Marina Mabrey tied the WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points. And honestly, it wasn’t even that close. The Tempo guard had 19 in the first quarter alone. By the time the first half ended, she was at 27. The game was effectively over by then. The Sparks never got within striking distance after falling behind by double digits barely six minutes in.
“Thirty-eight points in the first quarter, that’s unacceptable,” Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said after the game. “Obviously we saw a heavy dose of what she had going on, but they were moving. They were moving as a unit, they were cutting with purpose and executing. We were on our back foot and that’s on us to be able to start the game better so that we’re not digging from behind for the rest of the game.”
The Sparks scored 24 in the first quarter. Then 15 in the second. Meanwhile, Mabrey kept cooking. She added 12 more in the third to push her total to 39, and Toronto left her in even with the win long secured. It was one of those nights where the defense doesn’t even matter that much.
“It’s not always bad defense. Good offense beats good defense,” Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said. “I’m not saying we played great D, I’m just saying she’s an incredible scorer. And you have to tip your hat to her tonight. She was tremendous.”
There’s not a ton to overanalyze here. The Tempo shot the lights out. The Sparks couldn’t keep up. And Mabrey carved her name into the record books on a night where absolutely nothing the Sparks tried worked. The 125-97 final score doesn’t even fully capture how lopsided it felt.
Now the Sparks have to turn around and face Caitlin Clark and the Fever in Indiana on Saturday. Another explosive guard. Another potential disaster if they don’t tighten up fast.
“In my years of experience, you can’t dwell too much, but you still have to feel it to know what you need to do next,” Ogwumike said. “We obviously can look at the things that we can do better, but I think we really do feel what we need to do better for us to be able to come back and have a better showing on Saturday.”
Translation: They know they got embarrassed. The question is whether that embarrassment turns into something useful or just another L on the road trip.
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