Brittney Sykes suffered a non-contact foot injury and was ruled unable to return as Toronto Tempo faced the Indiana Fever, with starting guard Julie Allemand also ruled out and rookies Kiki Rice and center Nyara Sabally missing the game.
For Toronto Tempo, Tuesday night started with an ominous soundless pause—Brittney Sykes going down without a challenge, then needing help to get off the court. It happened during the Tempo’s game against the Indiana Fever, when the veteran guard fell while attempting to cut to the basket.
Tempo later confirmed Sykes would not be able to return due to a foot injury. Julie Allemand, the team’s starting guard, was also ruled out with a headache. Both absences compounded a night already shaken by how quickly Sykes was forced into the locker room.
Sykes did appear to put weight on both legs as she was assisted off the court, but she exited at the 6:46 mark of the third quarter. Before leaving, she had scored 11 points, grabbed two rebounds and added three assists.
The injury comes at a season peak for the 32-year-old. Entering play on Tuesday. Sykes was averaging a career-high 20.7 points. along with 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 14 games. placing her third in the WNBA in scoring. It’s why the timing of the injury felt so jarring—right in the middle of a run where she’d become one of the league’s most reliable offensive forces.
Off the floor, her importance to Toronto is easy to see in the way they built their backcourt. Sykes signed a two-year max contract worth $2.38 million over two years in the off-season. joining Marina Mabrey to form what was described as the WNBA’s first “million-dollar backcourt.” On the defensive end. she’s also been repeatedly recognized. voted to four WNBA All-Defence teams.
Toronto’s troubles didn’t stop there. Tempo rookie Kiki Rice and center Nyara Sabally were both out for the game—Rice with an ankle injury and Sabally with a hamstring injury.
The picture that emerges from Tuesday night is straightforward: when Tempo lost its leading scorer to a non-contact foot injury. it also absorbed multiple other key setbacks before even getting to the late-game consequences on the scoreboard. With Allemand’s headache. Rice and Sabally’s injuries. and Sykes forced out after the 6:46 mark of the third quarter. the team had little room to steady itself once the momentum shifted.
WNBA Tempo Toronto Tempo Indiana Fever Brittney Sykes Julie Allemand Kiki Rice Nyara Sabally injury update foot injury non-contact injury