Dallas Wings Beat Toronto Tempo in Front of a Record WNBA Crowd in Montreal

News from July 10, 2026, 09:41 PM ET – Montreal

What Happened in the Game?

Imagine a big game of basketball where two teams of women athletes play to score the most points. On Friday night, the Dallas Wings (a team from the USA) played against the Toronto Tempo (a new team from Canada) at a huge arena called the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

The final score was 108–95 — Dallas scored 108 points and Toronto scored 95, so Dallas won!

A player named Paige Bueckers was the biggest star for Dallas. She scored 34 points (think of points like gold stars you get for putting the ball in the hoop).

Why the Crowd Was a Big Deal

Lots of people came to watch! Here are the key facts:

• 20,996 fans were in the arena. That is a new record for a regular-season WNBA game. A regular season is the normal part of the year with scheduled games before the championship finals.
• The old record was 20,711 fans, set on September 19, 2024, in Washington when they played against Indiana.
• The WNBA’s two biggest crowds ever (both 22,076 people) happened in Detroit in 2003 and 2007 during the Finals (the special end games to decide the champion). So the new number is just for regular games, not finals.
• The Bell Centre also hosted the largest crowd in Professional Women’s Hockey League history: 21,105 fans for a Montreal vs Toronto game on April 20, 2024.
• (A photo from the game shows the record crowd at Bell Centre, taken by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images.)

Coaches and Players Speak (In Simple Words)

The Toronto Tempo coach, Sandy Brondello, said:

• “We are the only WNBA team in Canada, so we have a responsibility to show everyone how cool basketball is.”
• “We get to be seen all over Canada and celebrate the Tempo with new fans.”
• “This is a unique chance — we are making firsts! We say we are Canada’s team, so we take our show on the road.”
• “I always say, if a fan watches just one game, they will fall in love.”

The Dallas coach, Jose Fernandez, said:

• “It’s really special for Canada and for the Toronto Tempo team.”
• “It shows how much the WNBA is growing and what the new Canadian team is doing for basketball fans there.”

Player Stats Made Simple

Stats are just numbers that show what each player did. Here are the important ones:

For the Dallas Wings (they now have 15 wins and 8 losses this season):

• Paige Bueckers: 34 points, 6 assists (passing to a teammate who scores), 6 rebounds (grabbing the ball after a missed shot). She made 13 out of 22 shot tries.
• Jessica Shepard: 20 points and 17 rebounds.
• Arike Ogunbowale: 20 points.
• Azzi Fudd: 13 points.
• Note: The Wings swept a four-game road trip (won all four away games), including beating the Tempo earlier in Toronto.

For the Toronto Tempo (they have 9 wins and 13 losses, and have lost four games in a row):

• Marina Mabrey: 34 points, and she made 6 out of 9 “three-pointers” (long-distance shots worth 3 points each).
• Laura Juskaite: 25 points.

What’s Next for the Tempo?

The Toronto team still has more games to play in Canada. Here is their plan:

1. They will play against New York in Montreal on Sunday.
2. They will also play two games in Vancouver, British Columbia (another Canadian city).

Coach Brondello called this a “unique opportunity” to create firsts for Canadian basketball.

Important Callout:
The Toronto Tempo are an expansion team — that means they are a brand-new team added to the WNBA. They are the first and only WNBA team in Canada. Even though they lost this game, they are making history by bringing the league to a new country!

Summary

On July 10, 2026, the Dallas Wings beat the new Toronto Tempo 108–95 in Montreal. Paige Bueckers scored 34 points, and 20,996 fans showed up — the biggest crowd ever for a regular WNBA season game. The Tempo are Canada’s only team, and their coach is excited to share basketball with the whole country. Jessica Shepard and others helped Dallas win the game and their road trip. Toronto’s Marina Mabrey scored 34 points but her team still lost. The Bell Centre has also hosted big women’s hockey crowds. Next, Toronto plays New York and then goes to Vancouver.

FAQ (Questions You Might Ask)

Q1: What is the WNBA?
A: WNBA stands for Women’s National Basketball Association. It is a big group of women’s basketball teams that play games to see who is the best. Most teams are in the USA, and now one is in Canada.

Q2: What does “expansion team” mean?
A: An expansion team is a new team that joins the league later than the original ones. The Toronto Tempo are new, so they are called an expansion team.

Q3: What are rebounds and assists?
A: A rebound is when a player catches the ball after someone misses a shot (like grabbing a ball that bounced off the hoop). An assist is when a player passes the ball to a teammate who then scores right away.

Q4: Why is a “regular-season record” different from the biggest crowd ever?
A: The regular season is the long list of normal games. The Finals are the final championship games. The absolute biggest crowds (22,076) were for those Finals in Detroit. This new record (20,996) is only for normal games.

Q5: What is a three-pointer?
A: In basketball, if you throw the ball into the hoop from far away (behind a special line), your team gets 3 points instead of 2. Marina Mabrey made 6 of those long shots!