WNBA regular-season record crowd of 20,996 watches Wings beat Tempo in Montreal

MONTREAL (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 34 points and the Dallas Wings beat the expansion Toronto Tempo 108-95 on Friday night in front of a WNBA regular-season record crowd of 20,996 at Bell Centre.

The game broke the regular-season mark of 20,711 set in Washington on Sept. 19, 2024, against Indiana. The league's two largest crowds — both 22,076 — came in Detroit in the 2003 and 2007 WNBA Finals.

“Being the only team in Canada, it’s a responsibility for us and how cool is that,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. “We get to be seen all over Canada. We want to make sure we can come out tonight and celebrate the WNBA and celebrate the Tempo with our new fans.”

Toronto will face New York in Montreal on Sunday. The Tempo also will play two games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“I said to the team today what a unique opportunity this is. We’re creating firsts. We say we’re Canada’s team so we’re taking the show on the road,” Brondello said. “I always say, a fan has to just come and watch one game and they’ll fall in love.”

Jessica Shepard had 20 points and 17 rebounds to help the Wings (15-8) sweep a four-game trip that also saw them beat the Tempo in Toronto. Arike Ogunbowale also had 20 points, and Azzi Fudd added 13.

Bueckers was 13 of 22 from the field and had six assists and six rebounds.

Marina Mabrey had 34 points for Toronto (9-13), hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers. Laura Juskaite added 25 points. The Tempo have lost four straight.

“It’s really special for Canada and for the Toronto Tempo franchise,” said Dallas coach Jose Fernandez said. “It just shows the trajectory of where the WNBA is and what the franchise in Toronto is doing for basketball fans in Canada.”

The Bell Centre also hosted the largest crowd in Professional Women’s Hockey League history, drawing 21,105 for a game between Montreal and Toronto on April 20, 2024.

Wings: Host Chicago on Sunday night.

Tempo: Vs. New York on Sunday in Montreal.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Toronto Tempo's Isabelle Harrison (21) gestures before of a WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Montreal, Friday, July 10, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Tempo's Maria Conde (10) drives past Dallas Wings' Awak Kuier (34) and Azzi Fudd (35) during first half of a WNBA basketball game, in Montreal on Friday, July 10, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Tempo's Laura Juskaite (2 ) lays up the ball over Dallas Wings' Alanna Smith (8) during first half of a WNBA basketball game, in Montreal on Friday, July 10, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Tempo's Marina Mabrey, center, celebrates with teammates after drawing a foul against the Dallas Wings during the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Montreal, Friday, July 10, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Tempo's Laura Juskaite (2 ) shoots on the Dallas Wings during first half of a WNBA basketball game, in Montreal on Friday, July 10, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday ratcheted up a joint call for countries to adopt bans and restrictions on use of autonomous weapons systems — often known as killer robots — warning that “the risks have intensified.”

Building on an initial appeal three years ago and international talks on the issue for years, the appeal stops short of calling for a blanket ban but notes that such weapons systems are being developed, though the U.N. and Red Cross haven't confirmed use on the battlefield. But civilians need to be protected for when that day may come.

“We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: The autonomous targeting of humans by machines,” said U.N. Geneva spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci, reading a joint statement by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric.

“Today, we renew this call with even greater urgency,” the statement said. “The fundamental concerns remain unchanged, but the risks have intensified.”

The two international organizations say the development of weapons technology at “record speed” has strained the international rules system and widened the gap between technological capacities and regulatory constraints.

“Autonomous weapons systems are not part of a distant future — a race toward greater autonomy in weapons systems is already well underway,” the joint statement said.

The call comes as negotiators are set to meet in Geneva in November on ways of strengthening the existing Convention on Conventional Weapons, with the U.N. and ICRC saying the conference “offers the clearest path available” to move toward binding legal rules on the use of such autonomous systems.

The yearslong effort to rein in the use of autonomous weapons systems has struggled to produce limits on use of such lethal autonomous weapons systems. The new push comes against the backdrop of drones and other technologies used in conflicts as diverse as Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan and others.

“Scientists and engineers developing these systems have themselves raised the alarm,” the organizations said. “When the architects of this technology are calling for limits, states cannot afford to remain passive.”

“This year must mark a turning point,” the statement added.

FILE - A Ukrainian FP-1 long-range attack drone is launched at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)