Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey had one thought when a shoe came flying her direction in the final minutes of Sunday’s 93-91 win over the New York Liberty: don’t take the bait.
The moment happened with under two minutes left at the Bell Centre. Liberty forward Jonquel Jones lost her shoe during a scramble. Teammate Betnijah Laney-Hamilton picked it up and, instead of handing it to the ref, tossed it down the court. The shoe hit Mabrey in the back. Officials ejected Laney-Hamilton immediately.
Mabrey said after the game she didn’t think it was a malicious act. But she also made it clear she’s trying to keep her cool in games where things get chippy.
“I’m working on not being rage-baited,” Mabrey said.
The shoe throw wasn’t the only tension
That play capped an already heated game between two teams that don’t seem to like each other much. Earlier, Laney-Hamilton caught a flagrant 1 for making contact with Mabrey’s face. In the third quarter, both players got double technicals after another confrontation. This game had a lot of noise before the shoe ever left someone’s hand.
Mabrey kept her focus on the scoreboard. She dropped a game-high 30 points, her second straight 30-piece and the fifth time this season she’s hit that mark. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Tempo, the longest of their expansion season.
Toronto came out strong and built a 74-54 lead late in the third quarter. Then New York did what New York does. Sabrina Ionescu went for 28 points. Breanna Stewart put up 22. The Liberty clawed back to tie it at 91 with 1:30 left on a Stewart bucket.
But Nyara Sabally answered with the game-winner with 52 seconds on the clock. Mabrey scored eight of Toronto’s final 10 points, steadying things after the lead nearly slipped away completely.
What’s next for the Tempo
Toronto now sits at 10-13. They’ll see the Liberty again on Sept. 20 in Toronto. That rematch might have a little more juice after this one. Or at least more shoes on feet.
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