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.

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

Jessica Shepard had 20 points and 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.

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)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner on Friday submitted his paperwork to formally withdraw from Maine’s U.S. Senate race, officially ending an upstart yet troubled campaign whose dissolution threatens Democrats’ pursuit of chamber control.

The Maine Democratic Party announced later Friday that it will hold a nominating convention on July 25 to choose Platner's replacement for the November ballot.

Platner’s paperwork was received by the Maine secretary of state's office Friday afternoon.

In a letter to the secretary of state's office, which Platner also posted on social media, he wrote that the Mainers who had nominated him “voted for a new kind of politics” that is “representative of people down here in the real world — not billionaires, oligarchs, or the political establishment.” It was the same outsider chord that had been a trademark of his tumultuous campaign, in which Platner drew backing from progressive leaders including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California.

“I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in,” he went on, without detailing what that meant.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats were desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The formal withdrawal comes two days after Platner said he would quit the race, facing an allegation of sexual assault that he has denied. Maine Democrats are seeking a new nominee, and several hopefuls have already begun jockeying for position.

Maine Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Dingman said delegates representing all of Maine’s 16 counties will choose someone “who has the energy, ideas and popular support” to defeat Collins. The party said 601 delegates will participate.

“Our message to Mainers is this: While these circumstances are unprecedented and the challenge is enormous, your state party is ready and capable of rising to this challenge,” Dingman said.

State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election but the replacement must by named by July 27.

Several Democrats have announced runs for the Senate nomination this week. They include three candidates who lost the June primary for the governor nomination — former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson.

Others who have announced runs include Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban; former 2nd Congressional District candidates Jordan Wood and Paige Loud; and former Maine Senate candidates David Costello and Andrea LaFlamme. State Rep. Valli Geiger has also expressed interest in the post but has not formally announced.

This story has been corrected to show that state Rep. Valli Geiger has expressed interest in running but has not formally announced.

Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina.

FILE - Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Campaign flyers for former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Graham Platner are seen at his headquarters Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Ellsworth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)