Sandy Brondello Refused to Let Marina Mabrey Come Out. Then Came 53 Points.

Marina Mabrey woke up Thursday and decided she wasn’t going to let the Los Angeles Sparks have a good day. By the time she was done, she had tied a WNBA record that only A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage have touched: 53 points in a single game.

But here’s the thing. Mabrey almost didn’t get there. She wanted out.

With a blowout already in hand at Coca-Cola Coliseum, Mabrey tried to check herself off the floor. Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello wasn’t having it. According to video posted by TSN Sports, Brondello told her, “No, no, no, you have to stay, you have to go for this record.”

So she stayed. And the crowd got what it came for.

Mabrey went 17-of-28 from the field and 9-of-18 from three-point range. That last triple, the one to tie the record, came with 2:49 left in the fourth quarter. The place erupted. Mabrey, a 29-year-old guard in her eighth WNBA season, admitted afterward she was in disbelief. “To do it in the WNBA, it’s kind of like a dream come true,” she said.

She missed her next two attempts from deep trying to break the mark, then finally got subbed out with 1:04 to go. No harm done. The record was already hers to share.

This wasn’t some random hot night, either. For the second time in three games, Mabrey knocked down nine threes. That ties her with names like Kelsey Mitchell, Jewell Loyd, Arike Ogunbowale, Rhyne Howard and Chelsea Gray for the most threes in a single game in league history.

From expansion draft to franchise cornerstone

The Tempo took Mabrey with the sixth overall pick in the expansion draft, and she’s leaned into being the go-to scorer. Toronto is still figuring out its identity as a new franchise, but nights like this one give them a clear blueprint: give Mabrey the ball and get out of the way.

Brondello knew what she had. When Mabrey tried to wave herself off, the coach saw a shot at history and wasn’t about to let it slip. That kind of trust matters, especially for a player who’s been around long enough to know these chances don’t come often.

Mabrey is having the best season of her career. She’s providing leadership, experience and now a 53-point night that nobody in that building is going to forget anytime soon. The record books will remember it too.