Shakira Austin posted 18 points and 11 rebounds, scoring the final four points of the game as the visiting Washington Mystics spoiled the expansion Toronto Tempo’s debut with a 68-65 win in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
Sonia Citron led Washington with 26 points, while Kiki Iriafen contributed 12 points and 16 rebounds. For Toronto, Marina Mabrey scored 27 points and Brittney Sykes added 14.
Toronto opened the third quarter with five straight points to cut the deficit to 37-35. Citron answered with a jumper for Washington’s first points of the period, but Mabrey’s 3-pointer pulled the Tempo within one. Citron then hit back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that gave the Mystics a 47-38 lead. Mabrey made a free throw to end the run, and Sykes scored Toronto’s last four points of the quarter to trim the lead to 51-47.
In the fourth, Laura Juskiate’s put-back cut the lead to two, but Iriafen scored three straight points to push it back to 54-49. Mabrey then fueled an 8-2 run with four points, giving Toronto a 57-56 lead. Citron answered with five points to put Washington up by five, but Sabally’s layup and Juskaite’s 3-pointer tied the game at 63 with 1:53 left. Iriafen made one free throw, but Mabrey sank two to give the Tempo a 65-64 lead with 32 seconds remaining.
Austin calmly hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to regain the lead. Sykes missed a 3-pointer, and Austin added two more free throws with 11 seconds to go, extending the lead to three. A turnover by Mabrey on a jump ball sealed the result.
The game saw three ties and two lead changes in the first quarter before Georgia Amoore’s 3-pointer capped a 9-0 run, giving Washington a 13-6 lead. Julie Allemand’s 3-pointer ended the run and a 4 1/2-minute scoring drought for Toronto. Nyara Sabally’s layup pulled the Tempo within two, but Iriafen’s layup with 32 seconds left gave the Mystics a 17-13 lead after one.
Citron opened the second quarter with a layup to push the lead to six, but Mabrey’s six straight free throws tied the game at 19. Washington scored five straight points, but Mabrey and Sykes each made a basket and two free throws to give Toronto a 27-26 lead. The score was tied at 28 before Washington closed the half on a 5-0 run to lead 37-30.
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