Tempo's Marina Mabrey ties WNBA records with 53 points and 9 3-pointers in rout of Sparks

It was Marina Mabrey's night, and now it's her place in the WNBA record books too.

The Toronto Tempo star tied the WNBA record for single-game scoring with 53 points in a 125-94 blowout of the Los Angeles Sparks, joining A'ja Wilson and Liz Cambage at the top of the leaderboard. She got there partially thanks to nine 3-pointers made, which also tied a WNBA record.

The Tempo's 125 points scored is also the highest total the WNBA has seen in a regulation game. The only team to score more is the Phoenix Mercury, who tallied 127 points in a double-overtime game in 2010.

Mabrey had 27 points at halftime and 39 after the third quarter. It was soon very clear that she would be going for the record, as she reached 53 with a flurry of three 3-pointers in two minutes.

Mabrey stayed in the game after tying the record and had two-plus minutes to make history, but missed her last two 3-point attempts. She checked out with 1:04 remaining, to a standing ovation.

Her sister Michaela was on hand to celebrate after the game as well.

"My sister doesn't get to come see me play that much," Mabrey said later. "None of this happens without my teammates. They really found me. For a 3-point shooter, you need your teammates to set screens and deliver the pass, and that's what they did."

Mabrey had already made history last week when she set a franchise scoring record for the expansion Tempo, posting 37 points on Friday against the Connecticut Sun. She also posted nine 3-pointers in that game, meaning she's tied that record twice in her past three games.

She posted her 53 points on 17-of-28 shooting from the field and 9-of-18 from 3-point range, plus 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

It was a landmark night for a franchise looking to make history as soon as possible. The Tempo now sit at 8-9 in their inaugural season, and are probably feeling pretty good about landing Mabrey in the expansion draft right now. After a down season with the Sun last year, Mabrey is averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game and just made a very strong case for her first career All-Star honors at age 29.