TORONTO — Maria Conde, coming off a career night against the very same Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday, tried to set up a play as she crossed through half. Instead, her pass went errant and became just one of the 24 turnovers that defined the loss for the Toronto Tempo.
As the Tempo forward chased Kayla McBride down the floor, her face said it all; she was upset by her carelessness and the fact that this mistake had become a habit at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.
A failure to take care of the basketball caused the Tempo to lose 104-72 on Thursday night. With just 72 points, the Tempo logged their lowest scoring game yet, seven less than their previous low that came on July 14 against the Washington Mystics.
“That’s embarrassing. This is on our home court,” head coach Sandy Brondello said. “Our habits, what breaks it down, the things we talk about, too many turnovers, and unforced turnovers, and soft turnovers, and they’re not rebounding.”
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers.
Brondello’s frustration was clear as her tone increased with each repetition. The Lynx scored 31 points off turnovers. In a 32-point loss, those mistakes proved the difference.
“Our disruption and creating turnovers was probably the difference in the game,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve agreed.
What had started off with a confident first quarter for the Tempo fell apart as the basketball fundamentals and basics began to crumble. Rebounds were another difference-maker as the Lynx had 18 second-chance points to the Tempo’s four, and outrebounded the home squad by 10.
“We have confidence in them. I think you see when we’re playing well,” Brondello said of the ups and downs she’s seen from the Tempo this season.
“But when teams lift up the physicality and they’re just relentlessly persistent, we kind of go away from what works or don’t do the little things well.”
The second quarter buried the Tempo in a nine-point deficit as the Lynx tallied 32 points in 10 minutes. Toronto allowed the visitors that same success in the third when the Lynx scored 31. The most the Tempo have ever given up in a single frame is 34.
“I think the message going into the road trip is ‘are we going to compete?’ We have to show some fight and we can’t. When we’re winning, it’s all good, and when we’re losing, it’s all bad,” Brondello said. “So what kind of team do we want to be?”
Injuries also contributed to the loss, and after the game, Brondello admitted Nyara Sabally needed more rest than she got.
“Nyara has an issue. She probably shouldn’t have played today. You know, she only could go in spurts and has trouble, you know, being able to breathe, but she wanted to be out there.”
Toronto’s best showing came in the first quarter. The Tempo came out strong with 12 points to the Lynx’s three over the first four minutes, and forced Reeve to call a timeout to reset her team.
Laura Juskaite showed a new level of confidence in the first quarter. She capped a run of tough baskets with a deep 29-foot three that rattled in with two seconds left in the first quarter, for nine points in the first frame. Juskaite held this dominance with a game-high 19 points while playing a team-high 29:37 minutes.
When Kiki Rice checked in for her first home game since May 30, she was met with excited cheers. With only six points, she’s not in the form she was at the time of her injury, but if this ramp-up is anything like the start of her season, she should find herself there soon.
“We said it’s going to take her a few games to get her rhythm or get her, you know, get the rust out. But she gets out there and competes, and that’s what we want from her. She’s been out for a while, so it’s going to take a little bit just to get used to playing but she does try hard,” Brondello said of Rice’s return.
A crowd of 18,145 fans welcomed the Tempo to their second game at Scotiabank Arena, and brought energy despite the loss.
“I think it’s great that we’re able to be in this arena and understand the significance around it, and understand the significance of when you think about basketball in Toronto and you think about places to play,” Kia Nurse said.
The size of the venue created special opportunities for Tempo players and fans to connect. After Marina Mabrey’s warm-up, the tunnel was lined on both sides by young, eager Tempo fans. Instead of rushing on to continue her pregame routine, the Tempo star stopped to take photos with every fan on both sides of the tunnel, sign t-shirts and reciprocate the same appreciation she’s received from the Toronto faithful.