Opals mentor Sandy Brondello has claimed her first win as coach of new WNBA team the Toronto Tempo, beating the Seattle Storm 86-73.

After suffering a narrow 68-65 loss to the Washington Mystics in their debut game on Saturday (AEST), Toronto bounced back to secure the first victory of their inaugural season.

Thursday's win is also Brondello's first league victory since being axed as New York Liberty coach after the 2025 season.

The occasion will be extra sweet for the Opals coach because she beat one of her Australian stars, Jade Melbourne, who made the move to Seattle in the off-season and has been enjoying regular minutes for the side.

Melbourne posted 14 points, six assists and one rebound, but was upstaged by the Tempo's Marina Mabrey (26 points) and Brittney Sykes (18 points, eight rebounds, six assists) at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto.

It was neck-and-neck for much of the contest, but a blistering 18-6 third-quarter Tempo run broke the game open, before Mabrey piled on eight points in the opening six minutes of the fourth period to create an unassailable advantage.

"We talked about game one, we were clunky. When we are moving the ball and playing together, it looks good. We made steps forward," Brondello said.

"We've (next) got six games in 11 days. It's an opportunity for us to grow and face adversity."

The Tempo play their first road game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday (AEST).

Elsewhere, Opal star Steph Talbot grabbed four points and two rebounds to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 98-69.