Brittney Sykes Dropped 38 and the WNBA Is NOT Ready For This Expansion Squad

Alright, Seattle sports fam, you gotta hear about this! While our teams are grinding, there's an absolute freight train tearing through the WNBA right now, and it's coming from an expansion squad! The Toronto Tempo are on FIRE, riding a two-game winning streak and looking like serious contenders in the Commissioner's Cup race. We're talking 7-5 overall, 2-1 in the Cup, and they just pulled off a ridiculous overtime win against the Connecticut Sun, thanks to a certified superstar performance. Meanwhile, the Washington Mystics, their next opponent, are just trying to find a win with a roster full of youngsters. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum!

Tempo Heating Up, Riding Sykes' Career Night

Seriously, if you didn't catch Brittney Sykes' performance on Wednesday, you missed out! The woman went off for a career-high matching 38 points, dropping 11 of 20 shots from the field in that insane 106-102 overtime victory. She's already third in the whole WNBA in scoring at 21.6 points per game, but this was next level. Her backcourt partner, Marina Mabrey, wasn't slacking either, adding 21 points herself, with the duo combining for a ridiculous 59 points! Coach Sandy Brondello couldn't contain her excitement, admitting, "We put the ball in her hands a fair bit near the end, and she made great things happen." This team showed some serious guts too, clawing back from an 11-point halftime deficit, with Sykes scoring 14 of her points in the fourth quarter and overtime alone. Brondello wasn't happy with their first half, but she definitely called them "a resilient bunch" after that comeback. You love to see it, a real fight in them!

Mystics Can't Catch a Break, Rookies Feeling the Heat

Meanwhile, over in Washington, it's a completely different story. The Mystics are hurting, sitting at 4-6 overall, 1-2 in the Commissioner's Cup, and they've dropped their last two games. Talk about a gut punch! Their last game was a heartbreaking 78-76 loss to the Indiana Fever on Monday. Imagine this: rookie Cotie McMahon gambles on a steal in the final seconds, misses, and leaves Caitlin Clark open to bury a game-winning three with just 1.2 seconds left. OUCH. Their roster is absolutely stacked with youth, with only two players on their 13-player roster being more experienced than rookies or second-year players. Growing pains? Yeah, you could say that. The "oldest" player, Michaela Onyenwere, who's only 26, led them with 17 points, and guards Sonia Citron and Georgia Amoore each chipped in 12. And to make things even worse, standout forward Kiki Iriafen, who averages 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds, sprained her ankle early and was out for most of that Indiana game. Mystics Coach Syndey Johnson summed it up, saying, "We just came up short one possession," but she still said she "couldn't be prouder of how they acquitted themselves throughout that game." They'll need more than pride to turn this ship around. Now, here's the kicker: Washington actually beat Toronto 68-65 back on May 8. Can they do it again, or will the red-hot Tempo steamroll them? Toronto visits Washington on Friday, and this is a must-watch to see if the Mystics can find some magic, or if Sykes and the Tempo keep rolling in the Commissioner's Cup race!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.