Tempo, Fire both out to emerge from expansion blues

The WNBA's two expansion franchises are struggling entering their second meeting of the season.

The Toronto Tempo have dropped seven straight games and 11 of 12, while the Portland Fire have lost five consecutive contests as the teams battle Thursday night in the Pacific Northwest.

In the first meeting, Portland rolled to a 99-80 victory over host Toronto on May 23. Emily Engstler had 16 points and four blocked shots for the Fire while Marina Mabrey and Kiki Rice scored 19 points apiece for the Tempo.

Portland (11-19) has lost the first two contests of a five-game homestand. During its five-game skid, the Fire have allowed 100 or more points four times and 98 in the other.

Portland's defense again struggled in Sunday's 106-101 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Portland's Bridget Carleton matched her career best of seven 3-pointers in each of the past two contests.

Carleton equaled her career high of 26 points in Friday's 112-98 loss to the Indiana Fever and followed up with 24 points against the Sparks.

Carleton is averaging a career-best 14.4 points and her 84 treys are the second-highest of her eight-year career. She made 91 for the Minnesota Lynx in 2024.

"When BC has a good matchup, we want her to be more deceptive with how she's manipulating the ball and changing speeds," Portland coach Alex Sarama said. "So if she doesn't have the pull-up 3, how can she create a bigger advantage and get to the rim and maybe not have that defender in front of her?"

The Tempo are 0-2 on a five-game road excursion after losing to the Golden State Valkyries by 17 on Sunday and 11 on Tuesday. During the seven-game skid, Toronto has lost by an average of 18.4 points.

Mabrey missed Sunday's loss with a neck injury and had just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting on Tuesday. She averages a team-high 20.6.

The Tempo (10-20) received 21 points from Nyara Sabally on Tuesday but committed 16 turnovers leading to 27 Golden State points and was outworked on the offensive boards by a 15-5 margin.

"I think it's pretty easy, look at the stats: Turnovers and offensive rebounds," Toronto coach Sandy Brondello said. "... They lifted their intensity and that disrupted us a little bit. We got to be a bit tougher."

Recently acquired Aneesah Morrow made her Toronto debut and had eight points and five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

"The more and more comfortable she gets, she'll get better and better," Brondello said. "I like the minutes she gave us and we'll continue to build on that."

--Field Level Media