The Seattle Storm meet the Toronto Tempo on Wednesday, May 13, with both teams arriving from very different opening nights and Toronto still trying to find a cleaner offensive rhythm in its first week as the WNBA’s newest club.
Toronto lost its debut against Washington after shooting 27% from the floor and finishing with 65 points despite taking 35 free throws. Marina Mabrey led the way with 27 points and two assists, while Brittney Sykes went 4-for-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from three. That leaves the Tempo leaning heavily on Mabrey’s shot creation again when they see Seattle, which has already opened the scoring in both games this season.
The Storm have built that start on defense. They held the Connecticut Sun to 40% shooting and allowed 22 free throw attempts in their last outing, and they have kept opponents under 86 points in seven of their last 10 games dating back to last year. That pattern gives Seattle a clear edge in a matchup that asks Toronto to score more efficiently than it did in its first game.
Dominique Malonga has given Seattle another layer inside, with seven rebounds in one game and eight in the next. That rebounding presence matters against a Toronto team that was already forced into a foul-heavy debut, because the Storm have shown they can keep opponents off balance without giving away easy trips to the line.
The one uncertainty for Seattle is Taina Mair, who is questionable. Toronto, by contrast, has no injuries to report. That means the Tempo should have their full rotation available as they try to steady an offense that has not yet proven it can carry a full game against a disciplined defense.
For Toronto, the assignment is simple even if the execution is not: find enough clean looks to keep Mabrey from having to do almost everything. For Seattle, the goal is to keep doing what it has already done — start fast, defend the paint and force the league’s newest team to solve problems it did not solve in its opener.
