Sykes’s career-high – Brittney Sykes poured in a career-high 38 points as the Toronto Tempo snapped back for their first road win, beating the Los Angeles Sparks 106-96 on Sunday. Rookie Kiki Rice added 19 points in her first start.
LOS ANGELES — Brittney Sykes didn’t just score; she set a new personal benchmark, finishing with a career-high 38 points as the Toronto Tempo beat the Los Angeles Sparks 106-96 on Sunday.
Rookie Kiki Rice contributed 19 points in her first start. and Toronto turned the game into a grind at the free-throw line.. The Tempo went 39 of 42 from the foul line, with Sykes going 15 for 15.. Marina Mabrey had 14 points and Kia Nurse added 10 for Toronto in their first road win of the season. moving to 2-2.
For the Sparks, Kelsey Plum led with 28 points. Dearica Hamba added 21, Nneka Ogwumike finished with 17 and Late Martin scored 11. Los Angeles shot 23 of 30 from the foul line in a tightly officiated game that featured 59 fouls.
The turnaround compared with the night before was immediate in the way the Tempo built their cushion.. After Friday’s 99-95 loss to the Sparks. a game in which Toronto fell behind 19-2 early. this time the Tempo avoided that slow start and took control after an 18-18 tie.. They broke away and maintained a double-figure advantage for much of the second half.
Toronto closed the first quarter on a 9-3 run to lead 27-21, then pushed the margin further in the second. The Tempo went into halftime up 49-40.
Cori Close, who coached UCLA to its first NCAA title last month, sat courtside taking video of Rice, her former player.
On Friday night, Sykes scored 27 points and Rice—then coming off the bench—had 11 as Toronto lost 99-95. Sunday marked a different story, with Rice starting and Sykes putting together her highest-scoring game since her previous top mark of 35 points in 2022 with the Los Angeles franchise.
The Tempo have one more stop on their four-game road trip, visiting Phoenix on Tuesday. Los Angeles then heads to Phoenix on Thursday to start its own four-game road trip.
WNBA Brittney Sykes Kiki Rice Toronto Tempo Los Angeles Sparks Phoenix road trip free throws