Brittney Sykes and Aneesah Morrow are officially sidelined for the rest of the WNBA season, a brutal one-two punch that just hammered the Toronto Tempo. This team cannot catch a break.
Gut Punches and the League’s Cold Shoulder
It’s a double whammy for the Tempo after Friday’s game against the Portland Fire. Sykes, who has already been battling foot issues, sustained a left foot injury, and Morrow got hit with a left knee injury. The good news? No surgery needed for either of them. The *bad* news? They’re both out for the entire year. And get this: head coach Sandy Brondello confirmed the WNBA told them they’re *not even eligible* for a hardship player. Are you kidding me? Losing two key players and getting no relief just feels wrong.
The Impact of Losing Key Talent
Sykes, coming off her first career All-Star appearance, was still averaging 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals through 17 games this season, even battling existing foot injuries. She was posting career-best numbers to start the year before those multiple foot injuries took her out of most of the season. Morrow, who was traded from the Connecticut Sun on July 31st, had been an absolute spark since arriving in Toronto. In just 7 games with the Tempo, she was averaging 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds in 19.4 minutes. Losing that kind of production, especially from someone just thriving, is a massive blow for the Tempo’s inaugural 11-25 season.
A Season Plagued by Brutal Luck
You know what’s wild? In the same game they lost Sykes and Morrow for the season, the Tempo actually snapped a painful 12-game losing streak with an 82-79 win. Talk about a bittersweet victory. It shows this team has grit, but man, their luck has been cursed. Marina Mabrey has been balling out, earning her first All-Star nod with 20.8 points and 3.7 assists per game. Other contributors like Nyara Sabally (12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds), Isabelle Harrison (12 points, 6 rebounds), Kiki Rice (12 points, 3.7 rebounds), and Laura Juskaite (10 points, 3 rebounds) have stepped up. But the injury bug’s been relentless. Sabally and Harrison have each missed 12 games, Rice has been out for 16, and Sykes, as we said, already missed 19. What started as a promising 9-9 run has totally unraveled, leaving them with the WNBA’s third-worst record. Brutal watch, seriously.
So, with Sykes and Morrow gone for good, and the WNBA shutting the door on a hardship player, it’s officially an uphill battle for the Toronto Tempo. The remaining squad, led by Mabrey, has to dig deep and show that fight we saw in that streak-snapping win. With nothing to lose and their backs against the wall, we’ll be watching to see how they respond to this kind of adversity.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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