The Toronto Tempo will be out for a repeat win against the visiting Seattle Storm on Saturday afternoon.

The expansion Tempo defeated the visiting Storm 86-73 on May 13 for the first victory in franchise history.

Toronto (4-4) is coming off Wednesday’s 111-104 road win over the Chicago Sky that snapped a two-game skid.

Seattle (3-5) had a two-game winning streak halted Wednesday with a 78-64 loss to the Washington Mystics.

In their win at Chicago, the Tempo had a career-best 29 points from Nyara Sabally, who also had six rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

“This is really not surprising to me,” said teammate Marina Mabrey, who had 24 points and seven assists. “(Sabally) is a really good player and can read the game really well and is super smart.”

“She is an important player for us,” coach Sandy Brondello said about Sabally.

Brittney Sykes added 20 points for the Tempo, who shot 56.1% (37 of 66), including 46.2% (12 of 26) from 3-point range.

The Storm trailed 48-29 by halftime against the Mystics and could not recover despite a 19-12 fourth-quarter edge.

Jade Melbourne led Seattle scorers with 15 points.

The Storm shot only 34.9% (22 of 63) from the field and 21.7% (5 of 23) from beyond the arc.

“We won’t turn the page,” Storm coach Sonia Raman said. “We’re never going to turn the page on any game. We want to make sure that, win or lose, we learn and we grow. We’ll go back. We’ll watch film. We’ll process it and then make the adjustments we need to make because some of the things that happened today are things that we want to be better at going forward, no matter who we play.”

In the first meeting against the Storm, the Tempo were led by Mabrey’s 26 points on 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point distance. She also had four rebounds, three assists and four steals.

“(Mabrey) makes all these 3s, but it’s how she creates for her teammates, too,” Brondello said.

Sykes added 18 points and eight rebounds against Seattle.

Dominique Malonga scored 21 points to lead the Storm in their first visit to Toronto. She did not play because of concussion protocol on Wednesday.

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic and former Dallas Mavericks executive Donnie Nelson teamed to purchase professional basketball club Vanoli Cremona in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A, with a bid to become NBA Europe’s representative in Rome.

The club is relocating to Rome ahead of the 2026-27 season as part of the purchase with Nelson, son of longtime NBA coach Don Nelson, and Doncic joined in the ownership group by former Italian league player Rimantas Kaukenas and coach Valerio Bianchini.

“I have dreamed about owning a team in Europe for a long time, to finally have this happen is amazing,” Doncic said in a statement. “Vanoli has a great history, and we are ready to take it to the next level in Rome. We have an amazing group of partners, and I really believe we can do something special for basketball in Italy and Europe.”

The NBA is partnering with FIBA to develop NBA Europe with plans for the league to begin as soon as fall 2027. Commissioner Adam Silver set a goal of at least 12 teams for the inaugural season with the potential for 16 total teams, depending on various factors.

Donnie Nelson, 63, was a key figure in the front office of the Mavericks when Dallas acquired Doncic on draft night in 2018 for Trae Young.

Bianchini, 82, earned a reputation as a consistent winner with three Italian league championships with three different clubs.

–Field Level Media

The Cincinnati Reds placed reliever Graham Ashcraft on the 60-day injured list on Friday with a UCL sprain in his right forearm.

Ashcraft, 28, last pitched on Monday, striking out two batters and allowing no hits or runs in the ninth inning in a 7-2 road win against the New York Mets.

Moving directly to the 60-day IL is a worrying sign for Ashcraft’s long-term prognosis, potentially indicating the need for surgery.

The right-hander is 1-1 with one save and a 3.33 ERA in 26 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen this season. Ashcraft is 26-26 with a 4.67 ERA in 148 games (60 starts) since making his debut with the Reds in 2022.

The Reds selected the contract of right-hander Yunior Marte from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding move. He is 2-0 with five saves and a 5.12 ERA in 20 games (no starts) this season at Louisville.

Marte, 31, last pitched in the majors in 2024 with Philadelphia. He is 2-2 with two saves and a 5.64 ERA in 102 career games (no starts) with the San Francisco Giants (2022) and Phillies (2023-24).

–Field Level Media