'Will not remember this game because of basketball': Tempo soak in pre-season opener

In the hours and minutes leading up to the first Toronto Tempo game ever on Wednesday at Coca-Cola Coliseum, normalcy reigned.

Well before the Tempo fell 83-78 against the Connecticut Sun, fans waited in long lines for merchandise, players went through shootaround and seats slowly filled in anticipation of tip-off. Just like any old basketball game.

The anthems played, and Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards, of Kingston, Ont., came out to the court for 'O Canada,' joined by veteran American Brittney Griner as the lone Connecticut players. Tempo players stood next to each other across the free-throw line.

Starting lineups were introduced, and the energy kicked up a few notches. Tempo guard Kia Nurse, from Hamilton, received the honour of being announced last, and the sellout crowd of 8,210 offered a loud roar welcoming back their hometown star.

Then, with the blow of a whistle and a jump ball, everything changed. The WNBA officially arrived in Toronto.

"It was not [a] beautiful game, but the crowd obviously didn't care," Tempo forward Laura Juskaite said. "They cheered us loud. I will not remember this game because of basketball. I will remember this game because of the crowd and how they loved us tonight."

Griner scored the first bucket in the history of the building, a layup at the 9:13 mark of the first quarter.

Fittingly, it was Nurse who landed the first Tempo basket, swishing a three-pointer and sending the crowd into a frenzy, perhaps even forcing an ensuing Sun turnover.

At the end of the first quarter, with the game tied at 20 and on the heels of a 9-0 Tempo run, the boisterous masses rose for a standing ovation.

By early in the third quarter, Toronto opened up a 10-point lead and seemed to be in control.

However, the