It was the Toronto Tempo’s last of three games this season at Scotiabank Arena, and it lived up to the hype. Not only was it the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark’s first-ever game north of the border, but the Tempo also welcomed back Brittney Sykes.
“Chills. It was chilling. I couldn’t even hear my name, to be honest,” Sykes said of the response from the crowd as she returned to the court. “Like yes, the WNBA fans in the States, they give love – but God damn it, Toronto and Canada itself, the love that they give is just ridiculous.”
The Tempo gave the Fever a close call, losing the game 101-95. It was their 11th consecutive loss, and their only game in Toronto for the month of August.
Sykes was on a minutes restriction after missing 18 games with a plantar fascia injury in her left foot. She played a total of 21 minutes, scoring 15 points, five assists, two rebounds, and one block.
“I was just really grateful, just to be back out there with my team, sharing the ball with them, watching them work,” Sykes said of being back in the game. “It’s a different feel when you have that energy together and are going on runs and getting stops.”
Coach Sandy Brondello was vocal prior to the game about wanting to give the fans a better show at Scotiabank Arena than they did against the Minnesota Lynx. That night, the Tempo’s 32-point loss was their worst of the season.
“There are areas we can still get better at, [Indiana] is a really good team,” Brondello said of the improvements from the Lynx game. “I think the crowd was entertained with what Caitlin and Kelsey [Mitchell] can do, but I think regardless of the scoreline, we got down a little bit. We stayed together, and we just were persistent. We did some good things.”
The Tempo also improved their rebounding this game, an area of improvement the team is focusing on. Aneesah Morrow scored 14 points with 16 rebounds in her first home game with the Tempo. Those 16 rebounds were a season-high for the team, and just one below Morrow’s career high of 17.
“It felt great to have some home court advantage. I’ve been on the road for a month now, so it felt great to just be in front of amazing fans,” Morrow said of her first game in Toronto. “I was able to see that when I was traded here, the support, the love that I got, and be able to put on the show for them tonight.”
The Tempo also revealed their mascots tonight, Dez the snapping turtle and Dot the arctic hare. They are the first mascot duo in the league, and “brought two very different kinds of energy – and a shared sense of rhythm – to the court for the first time.”
Clark was able to get the win in her first-ever trip to Canada, scoring 24 points to help her team get their 24th win of the season.
“I’m super excited to be here. This is my first time in Canada in general, so it’s been cool to be here and experience your culture and be in Toronto and experience the city,” Clark said before the game. “The amount of people that are supporting the Tempo and are excited about the Tempo and excited about women’s basketball in this country and obviously their NBA team here is fantastic.”
“I think that’s the biggest thing is just the excitement, even at our hotel last night there were a few people that came up to us, and were like ‘We love the Tempo, and we’re so excited for the game tomorrow,’” Clark continued.
The Tempo now head out on another long road trip, playing two games in Vancouver to finish out their Cross Canada series before spending the rest of August playing away games.
“I can’t wait for [the Tempo] to experience Vancouver fans. That gym was electric, and we were the away team, and I think you turned them into our fans on the back end when I was with Seattle,” Sykes said about returning to Vancouver after playing in the WNBA Canada Game in 2025. “I mean, they’re just as great as on this side of Canada. It’s beautiful over there. Hopefully, it’s not raining like last time.”
“Outside of that, it’s great food, great atmosphere, great people. I just hope my teammates all enjoy it like we always do whenever we go across Canada.”
