The WNBA's first-ever game in Canada proved to be an overwhelming success. The Chicago Sky beat the Minnesota Lynx 82-74 Saturday at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena in a preseason matchup. The WNBA Canada game set preseason records across the board.
The Sky-Lynx game set WNBA preseason records for attendance, merchandise and viewership, according to the league. There were 19,923 fans in attendance to watch the Toronto preseason game in person. The WNBA said that 98% of the merchandise available during the preseason game was purchased.
The Sky and Lynx played the third game outside of the United States in WNBA history. The last such matchup happened 12 years ago in Manchester, England.
The WNBA is considering several potential ownership groups for an expansion team. Toronto could end up being chosen as an expansion city by the WNBA. Saturday's preseason matchup should only strengthen Toronto's case to get a WNBA team.
Portland, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver and Austin are options for the next WNBA team. An expansion team could end up in the Bay Area, as well.
It's been 15 years since the WNBA added an expansion team.
“There’s a huge demand for WNBA content and we see this as a first step, a major step, and hosting more global events like this in the future,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters.
Sky guard Kahleah Copper led Chicago to a victory with a team-high 18 points. Lynx guard Tiffany Mitchell scored a game-high 19 points off the bench for Minnesota. The Sky came back from a seven-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lynx 25-10 over the game's final eight minutes and 11 seconds.
The 2023 WNBA regular season tops off Friday.
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