The Mabrey Dynasty: Three Sisters. One Legacy.
What followed Marina’s 53-point performance vs. the Los Angeles Sparks showed a bond deeper than basketball
“Mikey [Michaela] was my first competition. I thought about beating her one-on-one every single time, and she just made me better.”
The camera pans over to Michaela Mabrey, covering her mouth with both hands, but it doesn’t hide the proud smile she wears as Marina glances over at her.
“She makes me a better player, she makes me a better person. She’s the first person to hold me accountable…”
This was what Toronto Tempo’s Marina Mabrey had to say at a postgame press conference following her career-high 53-point performance against the Los Angeles Sparks.
With the accomplishment, she tied the WNBA single-game scoring record with three-time WNBA champion A’ja Wilson and Elizabeth Cambage.
After the game, her older sister, Michaela Mabrey, ran onto the court to embrace her as both wore huge smiles and held each other tightly.
“She doesn’t get to see me play that much, so I’m happy that she was here to see it,” Mabrey said after the game. “Somebody from my family on a historic night.”
This moment, however, wasn’t the first time the Mabrey sisters shared the court. In fact, all three sisters have had multiple opportunities to play together.
Shall we backtrack a bit?
There are three sisters among the five Mabrey siblings. Growing up in Belmar, New Jersey, Roy Mabrey, the eldest, was the first to step into the world of college basketball at Saint Anselm College.
Michaela was the first of the girls to reach the NCAA level, playing for the University of Notre Dame. She reached the NCAA Women’s Final Four in three consecutive seasons from 2013-15, appeared in the national championship game in 2014 and 2015, and completed her collegiate career with 228 made 3-pointers.
Before arriving at Notre Dame, Michaela finished her senior year at Manasquan High School playing alongside her freshman sister Marina, where they led the Warriors to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in 2012.
Once Michaela entered college, Marina continued her tenure at Manasquan after transferring out during her sophomore year. She returned during her junior year and led the team to another Tournament of Champions title during her senior year in 2015, this time with another Mabrey sister, Dara, playing alongside her as a freshman.
Not only did history repeat itself with two Mabrey sisters winning Tournament of Champions titles together, but Marina joined Michaela in the 2,000-career-point club, making them the first sisters in New Jersey to achieve the feat.
As one Mabrey sister left, another carried the torch. It was Dara’s turn to lead Manasquan while Marina joined senior Michaela once more at Notre Dame for her freshman season, again replicating their high school experience together.
“Michaela had an impact on my decision to play for Notre Dame, but I had to think about the other three years that I’ll be there and she won’t be there,” Marina told the South Bend Tribune ahead of her freshman year.
She also said Michaela never pressured her to attend Notre Dame, but instead encouraged her to choose what would be best for her growth and overall college experience.
That university became Notre Dame.
As for Dara, the youngest, she continued the legacy at Manasquan, helping lead the team to another Tournament of Champions title during her senior year while playing through a thumb and ankle injury. She also joined her sisters in reaching the 2,000-career-point milestone.
All three sisters were named New Jersey’s Gatorade Player of the Year, with Dara earning the honor twice, in 2017 and 2018.
Back at Notre Dame, Michaela became a prominent piece of the Fighting Irish, developing into one of the top 3-point shooters in the ACC during her final three seasons.
Once Marina arrived, they became the first sister duo to play together for the program since the late 1970s, combining for 149 made 3-pointers during their lone season together.
After Michaela graduated and transitioned into coaching, it was Marina’s turn to make a name for herself on the collegiate level.
And that she did.
Marina became a standout guard for the Fighting Irish, helping lead the team to the 2018 NCAA championship and graduating in 2019 as the program’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers with 274.
Dara Mabrey later surpassed both of her older sisters in that category, finishing her collegiate career with 301 made 3-pointers.
Her journey was forged a little differently.
Though she eventually found her way onto Notre Dame’s roster, that’s not where it began. As the youngest of the girls, she grew accustomed to conversations surrounding the Mabrey name, especially how she would compare to her sisters.
With the constant pressure of following in their footsteps while searching for the college that truly felt like home, she chose Virginia Tech and began carving her own path.
“I’ve wanted to pave my own path, which is exactly what I’ve done,” Dara told the Asbury Park Press. “To be compared to your sisters all the time, they’re great players to be compared to, but after a while, it was like, I’m my own player, and I’m my own person off the court too. I live a different life than my sisters.”
Dara spent the first two years of her career with the Hokies before transferring to Notre Dame during her junior year, continuing the Mabrey legacy — this time on her own terms.
She added to the Mabrey trio’s remarkable numbers, combining with her sisters for 768 made 3-pointers and 3,386 points during their Fighting Irish careers.
Though Dara’s season was cut short because of an ACL injury and tibial plateau fracture, she still helped carry the weight of the Mabrey name while adding her own chapter to both programs she represented.
When Marina was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2019, Michaela reflected on how deserving the accomplishment was.
“For Marina, this has been her dream since I can’t remember how old... she is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever been around,” Michaela emotionally told NBC Sports. “If she has a dream, she’s going to go get it. This has been something she’s talked about forever, being a WNBA player.”
But that wasn’t the end of another Mabrey duo sharing the court.
After Marina was selected by the Toronto Tempo in the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft, Dara signed a training camp contract with the franchise in April following her international season.
“My agent called and was like ‘hey, they’re going to sign her,’ and I was like ‘are you serious?!’” Marina explained during a media availability shortly after the news was announced.
Though Toronto later waived Dara before the regular season, she signed with the 3XBA in May to continue her professional career on the 3-on-3 tour.
Earlier in 2026, Michaela stepped away from Notre Dame’s coaching staff, closing another chapter of the Mabrey legacy there.
On July 1, she launched her basketball consulting and mentorship business, Basketball Bestie, providing player development and mentorship for athletes and coaches from middle school through the collegiate level.
As for Marina, following her 53-point performance, she was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week at the end of June, earning the honor for the second time this season after first receiving it in May.
So, when we fast forward to that embrace between Marina and Michaela, while Dara returned from her own tournament to break down the historic performance on the sisters’ shared platform, Respectfully, it represents far more than sisters supporting one another.
All of the shared moments, championship runs and years of hard work were wrapped into that embrace.
That 53-point performance wasn’t just Marina’s. It belonged to all three sisters.
They were each other’s first competition in the driveway long before stepping onto college and professional courts, and they continue pushing one another to this day.
“Just seeing her [Michaela] on the side, I just want to be great for my family, especially for Mikey, who was sitting on the sideline,” Marina said after her 53-point performance, smiling toward Michaela in the press conference audience.
 | A guest post by
|