MONTREAL—A record crowd of 20,996 packed Montreal’s Bell Centre on Friday night, making history in the process.
By the time it was over, the largest regular season crowd in WNBA history watched the Dallas Wings win a 108-95 final over the Toronto Tempo in the league’s debut in La Métropole. Dallas (14-9) used a 24-10 fourth quarter to pull away from a shorthanded Tempo team and earn its fourth consecutive win.
It was an electrifying game with two top WNBA scorers trading buckets: Paige Bueckers scored 34 points with six rebounds and assists while Marina Mabrey match her on 10-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-9 from three-point range in a losing effort.
Perfect Attendance
Friday’s crowd surpassed the WNBA regular season single-game record of 20,711, previously set by the Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever in September 2024 at Capital One Arena. Washington also hosted the record breaker that stood for 26 years, as 20,674 took in a showdown with the Charlotte Sting in the same building during the Mystics’ inaugural season in 1998.
Only two crowds in league history have been larger than Friday’s, and both also came in the same building. as the Detroit Shock drew 22,076 fans twice at the old Palace of Auburn Hills. The first was the series-clinching win in the 2003 WNBA Finals and they repeated the fat in another win-or-go-home Finals game in 2007. Those remain the WNBA’s all-time attendance record-holders though Friday’s crowd is now the largest ever to watch a regular-season game.
A Bigger Moment for the League
For head coach Sandy Brondello and her Tempo, Friday was about more than one result. Toronto is the WNBA’s only Canadian franchise and the team has branded itself as “Canada’s team” while playing games across the country this season. Toronto has one more game in Toronto on Sunday against the New York Liberty (3 p.m. ET, TSN) as part of a “Canada Series,” which will also feature two more in Vancouver later this summer.
“I think we are Canada’s team,” Brondello said. “It’s all part of the process, and this has been years in the making. To finally be here, living these conversations and these business moves, it’s bigger than us. I hope Canada is proud of us. We play every day for you guys, and we’re really happy to be here.”
Bueckers, who played in front of sellout crowds in two Canadian cities within a week (scoring 22 in Dallas’ win in Toronto five days prior), framed the night as part of a broader shift in how women’s sports are covered and consumed.
“It speaks to the game expanding. It speaks to the global reach of the game and how much women’s sports has become this phenomenon where everybody wants to tune in, everybody wants to pay attention, and everybody wants to come and support,” Bueckers said. “So it’s just a great time to be a woman in sports.”
Toronto Fights Despite Missing Four Starters
The Tempo were without four regular rotation players as Temi Fagbenle (concussion protocol), Kiki Rice (left ankle), Nyara Sabally (left knee) and Brittney Sykes (left foot) were all sidelined with injures. Even with the ailments, the Tempo (9-13) still pushed Dallas to the final quarter: it led by as many as 13 points during the contest and was up by one entering the fourth.
Laura Juškaitė scored a season/career-high 25 points, and Isabelle Harrison added 18 points with eight rebounds. María Conde, who guarded Bueckers most of the night, finished with 12 points and nine assists.
Brondello credited her team’s fight but pointed to fatigue as the difference in the fourth quarter.
“We have four of our main players out, but I thought this team fought hard. It was a great game,” sshe said. “We just ran out of gas. We didn’t have enough left in the tank to finish it off, but credit to Dallas. Obviously Paige and Jessica Shepard were excellent, and Alysha Clark came in and really hurt us.”
Juškaitė said her coaching staff wanted her playing with more aggression from the opening minutes.
“Today my coaches wanted me to be aggressive from the first minute,” the WNBA rookie from Lithuania said. “I attacked the basket, some shots went in, and once that happens you start feeling like more shots are going to fall. Your teammates also start finding you more often, and that’s how it goes.”
PAIGE BUECKERS TONIGHT
• 34 POINTS
• 6 REBOUNDS
• 6 ASSISTS
• 2 STEALS
• 13/22 FG pic.twitter.com/OFVmtdEF43— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) July 11, 2026
Bueckers, Wings Pull Away Late
Dallas held Toronto without a three-pointer and to just 10 points in the fourth quarter, the fewest the Wings have allowed in any quarter this season. Alysha Clark scored all 10 of her points in the frame, going 4-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, off the bench. Shepard added 20 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, and Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points with seven assists.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez pointed to the defense as the turning point.
“In the fourth quarter, we held them to 10 points. They didn’t hit a three in the fourth. That was the difference,” Fernandez noted. “I thought we guarded the arc much better, and our pickup points were a lot higher.”
Brondello, for her part, pointed to a handful of late Toronto turnovers.
“We had a few silly, unforced turnovers late that we’ve got to eliminate,” she said. “But there was a lot that I liked and a lot we can continue building on.
The win not only completed Dallas’ season sweep of Toronto but the Wings also swept a four-game road trip, creating their first four-game road winning streak since 2022.
What’s Next
After Toronto faces the Liberty at Bell Centre, Dallas hosts the Chicago Sky on Sunday night at American Airlines Center (6 p.m. CT, ESPN).
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