The Toronto Tempo will play their next two home games in Montreal starting Friday night with a rematch against the Dallas Wings.
The Tempo (9-12) hope the change in venue will bring a better result after an 89-76 loss Sunday to the Wings (14-8) at Toronto.
The Tempo aim to end their three-game losing streak after an 83-75 home loss to the surging Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.
Dallas will be out to complete an undefeated four-game road trip after defeating the New York Liberty 88-77 on Tuesday.
Jessica Shepard earned her third triple-double of the season for Dallas with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
Shepard is the second player in WNBA history with three triple-doubles in a season after Alyssa Thomas.
“I think she’s having fun doing it,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said. “She’s playing with a lot of joy, a lot of enthusiasm. I think she feels really comfortable, right, in her decision-making and her teammates around her. …I just love her versatility, her court vision. She can do many things.”
Shepard is proving to be a shrewd free-agent acquisition for the Wings. “Part of it is just playing more,” she said. “We have a lot of players that come from programs that play basketball the right way and it just makes it really easy to make reads out there.”
Dallas held New York to 19.2% (5-of-26) from 3-point range.
In their loss on Wednesday, the Tempo overcame a 13-point deficit to lead by two points going into the fourth quarter. The Valkyries regained command with a 12-0 burst to open the fourth quarter.
“It was a game of runs,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. “They just keep throwing so many different looks at you. It’s one of our better defensive efforts, although offensive rebounding is still a bit of an Achilles heel there.”
The Tempo were outrebounded 31-23 and committed 20 turnovers.
Toronto’s Isabelle Harrison scored a career-best 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Marina Mabrey was held well below her season scoring average of 20.6 points by scoring 11 while being covered tightly by the solid Golden State defense.
The Tempo lost center Nyara Sabally to a left knee injury in the first quarter. They already are without Kiki Rice (left ankle), Temi Fagbenle (concussion protocol) and Brittney Sykes (left foot).
“We haven’t really been able to evaluate what our whole team looks like, because we haven’t had it,” Brondello said.
Toronto signed Canadian center Kayla Alexander of Milton, Ontario, to a seven-day hardship contract. Alexander last played in the WNBA in 2020.
–Field Level Media
