TORONTO (AP) — Shakira Austin made four free throws down the stretch and the Washington Mystics held on to beat the Toronto Tempo 68-65 on Friday night, spoiling the Tempo's first game.
Sonia Citron scored 26 points, Austin had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Kiki Iriafen added 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Mystics. Austin made two free throws with 18 seconds left to put Washington ahead 66-65, then added two more with 11 seconds to play.
Click to Gallery
Toronto Tempo's Kia Nurse, left, and teammates stand for "O Canada" prior to WNBA basketball game action against the Washington Mystics in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Toronto Tempo and the Washington Mystics line up for the tip-off at a WNBA basketball game in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Tempo's Kia Nurse, foreground, speaks to the home crowd prior to WNBA basketball game action against the Washington Mystics in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Tempo's Kiki Rice, front right, high-fives teammates prior to a WNBA basketball game against the Washington Mystics in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Washington Mystics' Shakira Austin (0) drives past Toronto Tempo's Nyara Sabally (8) during first-half WNBA basketball game action in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Marina Mabrey scored 27 points and Brittney Sykes had 14 but the Tempo couldn’t overcome poor shooting. Toronto shot 5 for 25 from 3-point range and went 17 for 63 overall.
Sykes connected on Toronto’s first shot of the game, giving the expansion team its first points, but came up empty on a 3 that would have put the Tempo in front with 14 seconds remaining.
After Cassandre Prosper opened the game with a layup for Washington, the sellout crowd of 8,210 roared as Sykes connected on the first shot in Tempo history, a pullup jumper from the free-throw line.
New Dallas Mavericks president and former Raptors executive Masai Ujiri, who is part of the Tempo ownership group, sat at center court.
Also in attendance were current Raptors Immanuel Quickley and Sandro Mamukelashvili, former Raptor Serge Ibaka, and Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair.
Fans sang along to a song by Canadian country music star Shania Twain during a Karaoke Cam gimmick in the fourth quarter.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Toronto Tempo's Kia Nurse, left, and teammates stand for "O Canada" prior to WNBA basketball game action against the Washington Mystics in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Toronto Tempo and the Washington Mystics line up for the tip-off at a WNBA basketball game in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Tempo's Kia Nurse, foreground, speaks to the home crowd prior to WNBA basketball game action against the Washington Mystics in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Tempo's Kiki Rice, front right, high-fives teammates prior to a WNBA basketball game against the Washington Mystics in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Washington Mystics' Shakira Austin (0) drives past Toronto Tempo's Nyara Sabally (8) during first-half WNBA basketball game action in Toronto, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
COHUTTA, Ga. (AP) — A town council in a small north Georgia mountain community passed an ordinance Friday reinstating the community's police department and restoring the jobs of the police officers two days after the mayor fired them all.
A standing room-only crowd of townspeople, news media and the police officers attended the special meeting of the Cohutta Town Council, council member and Vice Mayor Shane Kornberg told The Associated Press afterward.
The officers were reinstated immediately and will receive back pay, Kornberg said.
A sign posted earlier this week in the town of about 930 people announced that the police department had been dissolved “per Mayor Ron Shinnick.” It told people who need help to call a nonemergency county number.
The jobs of the chief and about 10 officers were terminated as of Wednesday morning. Exact reasons haven’t been shared publicly.
Shinnick said he took action because of some comments officers posted on social media. The now-former Sgt. Jeremy May said it involved a complaint that he and other officers had raised about the mayor's wife, Pam Shinnick, who had served as the town clerk.
“This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor, and I wholeheartedly believe that,” May told WRCB-TV. “We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs.”
The now-former Cohutta Police Chief Greg Fowler told WRCB that he couldn't comment in detail as the officers were clearing out the police department and removing equipment from the building this week. The mayor told the station he's not sure what will happen next.
Phone calls and emails left Friday for the mayor were not immediately returned.
Kornberg said the town's attorney, Bryan Rayburn, told the council the officers' firings hadn't followed the town charter, which requires 30 days' notice be given before employees can be suspended or removed.
The council went into executive session to discuss matters of litigation. When they emerged, the mayor voluntarily didn't return to the meeting, Kornberg said.
Kornberg, as vice mayor, took over the meeting. The council then passed the ordinance reinstating the officers and another measure preventing the mayor from firing the officers for the next 30 days.
The council then voted to table “for the foreseeable future” the rest of the meeting's agenda, which involved removing Shinnick.
When no Cohutta officers were working, the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office had said deputies would help the townspeople if needed. Cohutta, just south of the Tennessee line, is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta.
Multiple townspeople said Friday evening they were attempting to livestream the meeting on social media, but weak cell service in the area did not allow them to do so.
Mayor Ron Shinnick, left, shakes hands with members of the Cohutta Police Department at Cohutta Town Hall in Cohutta, Ga. on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Matt Hamilton/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)
Mayor Ron Shinnick, back, looks on as police chief Greg Fowler reads a statement at Cohutta Town Hall in Cohutta, Ga. on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Matt Hamilton/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)
Members of the Cohutta Police Department look on as Mayor Ron Shinnick speaks at Cohutta Town Hall in Cohutta, Ga. on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Matt Hamilton/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)
Mayor Ron Shinnick, back, and members of the Cohutta Police Department look on as lawyer Bryan Rayburn speaks at Cohutta Town Hall in Cohutta, Ga. on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Matt Hamilton/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)
Mayor Ron Shinnick speaks at Cohutta Town Hall in Cohutta, Ga. on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Matt Hamilton/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)
