The expansion Toronto Tempo erased a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat the Connecticut Sun 101-97 on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Toronto, which played with only nine available players due to injuries.
Marina Mabrey scored 21 of her career-high 37 points in the fourth quarter, connecting on 9 of 12 three-point attempts to tie the WNBA single-game record for made three-pointers.
The win improved Toronto to 8-8, while Connecticut dropped its seventh straight game to fall to a league-worst 2-14.
Toronto entered the game without star guard Brittney Sykes (plantar fascia), rookie guard Kiki Rice (ankle), and Nyara Sabally (right hamstring).
Connecticut led 50-37 at halftime, outscoring Toronto 28-10 in the paint and holding a 24-9 edge in bench scoring.
Brittney Griner finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Sun.
Second-Half Surge
The Tempo opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run and outscored the Sun 64-47 over the final two periods.
Toronto recorded 27 assists, including nine from Julie Allemand.
Temi Fagbenle contributed 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds.
Maria Conde added 19 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Kennedy Burke scored 18 points for Connecticut, while Leila Lacan had 16 and Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 13.
Toronto head coach Sandy Brondello praised her team's resilience after the loss of key players.
"It's hard when you lose one of your best players, and then you kind of have to adjust how you play a little bit," Brondello said.
"For me, this was a win for how we got gritty, and we got tough, and we found a way."
Brondello compared Mabrey's performance to that of legendary guard Diana Taurasi.
"I looked like I was watching Diana Taurasi out there," Brondello said.
"I've seen her getting [Taurasi's] fire, and just how effortless it is, just how far she can shoot out, and the confidence that she has in it."
Mabrey explained her approach during the historic scoring run.
"I'm locked in the whole time, but there are defences out there geared to stop me," Mabrey said, "so I have to look for pockets where they relax, and then that's when I can attack."
Fagbenle played 32 minutes despite returning from an opening-day shoulder sprain, and Brondello joked that the pre-game minutes restriction went out the window.
"Anyone is going to be tired, so that's not going to be an excuse," Fagbenle said.
"So you just gotta be mentally tough, and that's how you win these games, like just mental toughness at the end of the day, and that's what I should dig into."
Toronto travels to play the Atlanta Dream on Monday, while Connecticut hosts the Chicago Sky on Monday.
