Brittney Sykes had 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Toronto Tempo to a 85-68 victory over the visiting Chicago Sky at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
The victory improved the first-year WNBA team’s record to 6-5.
The Tempo dominated the game despite shooting 4 for 22 from three-point range. Toronto out-rebounded Chicago 44-37 and led by as many as 21 points in the contest.
The Sky (4-7) shot an abysmal 23-of-65 from the floor.
The Tempo were without rookie guard Kiki Rice. Coach Sandy Brondello said Rice will need a bit of time off and “hopefully we can get her back in a few weeks.” Rice suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain in Wednesday’s 97-82 loss to the New York Liberty.
Takeaways
Tempo: Forward Nyara Sabally set the tone early, collecting 10 points, four rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in the first quarter as the Tempo jumped ahead by 14 points, 29-15.
Sky: Late in the third quarter, as the Sky were attempting a comeback, the Tempo pulled in back-to-back offensive rebounds. On the same possession, Chicago's Kamilla Cardoso picked up a foul leading to two free throws by Sykes for a 68-51 Tempo lead, ending any chance of Chicago getting back into the game.
Key moment
Sykes was fouled as she scored a layup to put the Tempo ahead by 20 in the third quarter. Sykes then scored on the free throw to put the home side ahead 54-33, a 21-point lead.
Key stat
The Tempo scored 46 points in the paint compared to only 30 by the Sky.
Up next
Tempo: Host the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.
Sky: Return home to play the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday.