Canadian basketball notebook: What’s next for Tempo after Mabrey mania?

Two games from the midpoint of their inaugural season, the Toronto Tempo have ticked plenty off their expansion-team checklist.

First basket? Check.

First win? Check.

First award? Check.

What star guard Marina Mabrey did Thursday against the Los Angeles Sparks, though? No one had that on their to-do list.

If you’re reading this, you know by now that Mabrey tied a WNBA record with 53 points in a blowout win over Los Angeles at home. You know that she had two shots to break the record, and that she checked out with one minute remaining to the dismay of the home crowd.

Yet to be seen is where the iconic performance lands on the where-were-you-when meter from this opening campaign.

Meet Marina Mabrey, the feisty Tempo guard who tied the WNBA scoring record

Marina Mabrey matches WNBA scoring record with 53 points to help Tempo rout Sparks

The expansion Toronto Raptors, a mostly dismal team, will always have their shocking win over Michael Jordan and the 72-win last-dance Chicago Bulls. Blame the Toronto Flu, but you can’t take away that Raptors victory.

These Tempo, though, are aiming much higher.

Sitting 9-10 and with more than a week off before they return at home against the Dallas Wings on Sunday, the Tempo face a critical juncture in their season: seven more contests in their nine-game homestand (including two in Montreal, where a potential WNBA-record crowd could make for another moment), all against teams above them in the standings.

Toronto, which sits on the playoff fringe at ninth in the league-wide standings, has yet to beat a team that currently sits above it in the standings.

But head coach Sandy Brondello said they could use Mabrey’s historic night as a jumping-off point.

“I think just what we’re capable of when