VANCOUVER —The Toronto Tempo ended a 12-game losing skid with an 82-79 comeback victory over the Portland Fire in Vancouver on Friday.
Isabelle Harrison led the Tempo (11-25) with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Laura Juskaite added 15 points, four assists and seven rebounds.
Canadian Bridget Carleton put up 18 points for the Fire (15-21) and Megan DiLeo contributed another 14.
The Fire jumped out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter after Carleton, from Chatham, Ont., put up nine points in the opening six minutes of the game.
Toronto battled back and slowly whittled away at the deficit, outscoring Portland 9-2 over the final three minutes of the half to head into the break with the score even at 44-44.
The Tempo took the lead on a Juskaite jumper 2:21 into the third and pulled away later in the quarter with a series of big buckets, including a Harrison layup through traffic that saw many in the announced crowd of 12,414 jump to their feet.
Portland pushed late and went up 76-75 thanks to an Emily Engstler three-pointer 6:22 into the fourth, but Toronto rallied once again and closed out the game with Harrison sinking a pair of free throws with 9.8 seconds left.
Injuries continue to plague the Tempo, who lost guard Brittney Sykes (left foot) in the first quarter and forward Aneesah Morrow (left knee) in the second.
Toronto was already without Maria Conde (left calf), Nyara Sabally (left calf) and leading scorer Marina Mabrey (right adductor) for the game.
Tempo: Are now 2-1 in their Cross Canada series. Toronto notched a win and a loss at Montreal's Bell Centre last month, where the team drew 20,996 and set a WNBA record for regular-season attendance.
Fire: Ran into foul trouble in the second and struggled to sink baskets in the third. Portland field goal shooting was 39.7 per cent on the night. The Fire shot 82.4 per cent from the line.
Harrison collected a rebound, sprinted up the court and made her layup to level the score at 44-44 with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.
Toronto out rebounded Portland 43-41 and improved to 7-6 when they win the rebound battle.
Tempo: Host the Las Vegas Aces in Vancouver on Sunday.
Fire: Host the Washington Mystics on Sunday.