The Toronto Tempo were holding their own against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, but a mid-game injury to leading scorer Brittney Sykes changed everything. Sykes went down in a non-contact scenario that led to her being helped off the floor and to the locker room. She was later ruled out of the rest of the game due to a foot injury.
“No update, she’ll be evaluated. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious,” said head coach Sandy Brondello after the game about Sykes’ status.
The Tempo entered the game against Indiana with two previously reported injuries. The team’s rookie, Kiki Rice, suffered a grade two ankle sprain two weeks ago against the New York Liberty. Centre Nyara Sabally injured her hamstring last week against the Connecticut Sun. Tuesday’s game was her third out of the lineup.
Along with Sykes, point guard Julie Allemand also left the game early. With the two original injuries, plus Sykes and Allemand, and the fact that the Tempo do not currently have any development players signed, they finished the game with eight available players.
“Julie had this really bad headache, so she couldn’t continue in the game,” Brondello said.
These absences come right after the Tempo were able to get back both Isabelle Harrison (thumb dislocation) and Temi Fagbenle (shoulder sprain) from long-term injuries. Rice’s first full game out was Harrison’s first game back. The Tempo have yet to have their full roster available this season.
“I mean, this injury bug, this has got to get behind us,” Brondello said.
After being down just three points at the time of Sykes’ injury, the game got away from the Tempo quickly after that. The Fever won 113-91 on a 21-point, 14-assist performance from the WNBA’s 2024 No.1 draft pick, Caitlin Clark.
The Tempo had to continue their “next woman up” mentality, going deeper into their bench to finish the game.
“In terms of people stepping up, I think everyone did,” Brondello said of her team. “Laura [Juskaite] had a great game, Marina [Mabrey] – I thought Maria [Conde] had a tough job because she’s guarded [Clark] all night.”
Toronto’s Spanish wing, Maria Conde, came off the bench to score 12 points with four rebounds and five assists, shooting 3-for-4 from distance. Laura Juskaite, the forward from Lithuania, had 19 points with two rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Canadian Kia Nurse played increased minutes in the second half, scoring 10 points of her own.
“When you lose one of your best players, it’s tough,” Brondello said, “but no one’s going to feel pity for us. We have a next player up mentality.”
“I thought we competed hard, but we couldn’t find ways that we could fill [Sykes’s] shoes. That’s going to be really hard, but we just got to hope that she’s not too injured.”
[It’s an opportunity] for everyone else to be evaluated and see what we got.”
“It’s part of the job, like every time you step on the court as a basketball player, there’s always a risk that someone can get injured,” Tempo guard Marina Mabrey said after the game. “We have players that can play basketball that are really good. That’s kind of the beauty of this league, there’s people waiting for their opportunity every chance.”
Obviously never wish somebody to get injured, but now maybe we’ll see a different look at our team.”
This was the Tempo’s third consecutive loss, and the first time this season they have lost three in a row. It was also the first game of a three-game road trip. Toronto plays in Connecticut on Friday night before they head to Atlanta for a rematch against the Dream on Monday.
A prognosis on Sykes should come in the next few days.
