MONTREAL (AP) 鈥� Paige Bueckers scored 34 points and the Dallas Wings beat the expansion Toronto Tempo 108-95 on Friday night in front of a WNBA regular-season record crowd of 20,996 at Bell Centre.
The game broke the regular-season mark of 20,711 set in Washington on Sept. 19, 2024, against Indiana. The league’s two largest crowds 鈥� both 22,076 鈥� came in Detroit in the 2003 and 2007 WNBA Finals.
鈥淏eing the only team in Canada, it鈥檚 a responsibility for us and how cool is that,鈥� Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. 鈥淲e get to be seen all over Canada. We want to make sure we can come out tonight and celebrate the WNBA and celebrate the Tempo with our new fans.鈥�
Toronto will face New York in Montreal on Sunday. The Tempo also will play two games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
鈥淚 said to the team today what a unique opportunity this is. We鈥檙e creating firsts. We say we鈥檙e Canada鈥檚 team so we鈥檙e taking the show on the road,鈥� Brondello said. 鈥淚 always say, a fan has to just come and watch one game and they鈥檒l fall in love.鈥�
Jessica Shepard had 20 points and 17 rebounds to help the Wings (15-8) sweep a four-game trip that also saw them beat the Tempo in Toronto. Arike Ogunbowale also had 20 points, and Azzi Fudd added 13.
Bueckers was 13 of 22 from the field and had six assists and six rebounds.
Marina Mabrey had 34 points for Toronto (9-13), hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers. Laura Juskaite added 25 points. The Tempo have lost four straight.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really special for Canada and for the Toronto Tempo franchise,鈥� said Dallas coach Jose Fernandez said. 鈥淚t just shows the trajectory of where the WNBA is and what the franchise in Toronto is doing for basketball fans in Canada.鈥�
The Bell Centre also hosted the largest crowd in Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League history, drawing 21,105 for a game between Montreal and Toronto on April 20, 2024.
Up next
Wings: Host Chicago on Sunday night.
Tempo: Vs. New York on Sunday in Montreal.
___
AP WNBA:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
