Toronto Tempo guard Kia Nurse is introduced before taking on the Connecticut Sun in Wednesday's preseason WNBA game at Coca Cola Coliseum in Toronto. Nurse scored the Tempo's first basket of the night.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Coca Cola Coliseum was packed Wednesday night. Fans queued in long snaking lines for Toronto Tempo merch. They pointed their phones as the expansion team’s players emerged on the court, then welcomed them at playoff-like volumes.
All of that at a preseason game.
Facing the Connecticut Sun in exhibition action, a sellout crowd of 8,210 got its long-awaited first peek at Canada’s freshly assembled new WNBA team, playing inside the historic century-old stadium they’ve retrofit to make home.
The Tempo lost, 83-78. Lexi Held led the way for Toronto with 21 points – including five three-pointers, while two players added double digits off the bench: Maddison Rocci had 11, with 10 from Laura Juskaite.
The first bucket came from the team’s lone Canadian, Kia Nurse. The three-time Olympian and veteran WNBA guard from nearby Hamilton swooshed a three-pointer, followed by a boom from the home crowd.
It was the first – and only – home preseason contest before the franchise has its inaugural game on May 8.
'Swaggy' Brondello ready to bring her sense of style north
Several of Toronto’s key players were out of the lineup for the first test game, so the fans didn’t get a true look at the starting lineup head coach Sandy Brondello is likely to roll out during the regular season.
Veteran free agent guard Brittney Sykes sat out so there was no chance to see her chemistry with Marina Mabrey – also out – with whom she makes up the WNBA’s first million dollar backcourt.
Toronto’s first pick in the expansion draft wasn’t among the starters either – Belgian guard Julie Allemand who just arrived in Toronto on Monday after hoisting the Euroleague trophy with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Women’s Basketball Super League.
Plus forward Isabelle Harrison is out nursing a hand injury.
Rookie Toronto Tempo guard Kiki Rice (1) got her first taste of professional basketball on Wednesday against Connecticut Sun centre Brittney Griner (42).Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
It was a chance for Brondello to put many on her roster to the test, especially against the likes of Connecticut’s Brittney Griner and Aaliyah Edwards.
Kiki Rice started, Toronto’s first WNBA draft pick in franchise history. The sixth overall selection has barely taken a breath since winning an NCAA national title with the UCLA Bruins just a few weeks ago. She was on the ball to start the game, right after starring in a pregame video montage about the building of this team. A young fan welcomed the rookie with a sign that read “RICE, RICE, BABY.”
Rice started the tune-up game in the backcourt alongside Nurse and Lexi Held, while Nyara Sabally and Temi Fagbenle opened in the frontcourt.
The new team had unveiled its custom Tempo basketball floor at a recent fan event, but this was the first game action on the court.
It was a last chance to smooth out game-day protocols in the stadium, from anthems to media interviews, sound checks to dance team performances. They even had staff with signs outside at the GO Train station directing new fans where to enter the stadium.
The Tempo game was packed, even as the Toronto Raptors were locked in a playoff game with the Cavaliers in Cleveland at the same time.
Fans filled the Coca Cola Coliseum concourses waiting to buy Tempo goods, including jerseys, sweaters, hats and tall insulated mugs with the phrase First Never Fades.
“I feel like a kid in a candy store,” said Brondello, settling into the team’s new digs before the game.
The coach listed out her wants for the day: Having the players feel the energy of the building and settling into the team’s identity; one that will be disruptive on the defensive end.
“We want to make teams feel uncomfortable,” she added.
It’s been a whirlwind for the Tempo, one of the two new teams entered for the WNBA’s 30th season. They could only begin adding players this month after the league and its players association were locked in lengthy negotiations on a new collective agreement.
Players just arrived in Toronto for camp a couple of weeks ago, held at University of Toronto. The team was fresh off its first-ever media day on Monday. Players were whisked between two Toronto hotels, shooting content for various team and league needs, plus broadcasts and press conferences with reporters. It included player photo shoots in front of the city’s skyline.
They’ve bonded. Some have attended Raptors playoff games and are asking Nurse about all things Canadian, from ketchup chips to Shopper’s Drug Mart and driving in Toronto.
“They’re doing things together off the court too, they’re getting to know each other on a personal level,” said Brondello.
“And we’re making history, aren’t we?”