Sykes’ career-high 38 points helps Tempo to first road win

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LOS ANGELES — Brittney Sykes scored a career-high 38 points, rookie Kiki Rice added 19 in her first start, and the Toronto Tempo raced past the Los Angeles Sparks 106-96 on Sunday.

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Marina Mabrey had 14 points and Kia Nurse 10 in the first road win for Toronto (2-2). The Tempo were 39-for-42 from the foul line with Sykes going 15-for-15. Sykes’ previous high was 35 points in 2022 when she played for Los Angeles.

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Kelsey Plum had 28 for the Sparks (1-3), Dearica Hamba added 21, Nneka Ogwumike 17 and Kate Martin 11. Los Angeles was 23-for-30 from the foul line in a game during which 59 fouls were called.

On Friday night, Sykes had 27 points and Rice, who starred at nearby UCLA before being picked sixth by the expansion Tempo, had 11 off the bench when they lost 99-95 to the Sparks. This time, instead of falling behind 19-2 as they did Friday, the Tempo broke away from an early 18-18 tie and led the rest of the way, much of the time with a double-figure advantage.

Toronto closed the first quarter on a 9-3 run to lead 27-21 and was up 49-40 at halftime.

Cori Close, who coached UCLA to its first NCAA title last month, was courtside taking video of Rice, her former player.

UP NEXT

Tempo: Continue their four-game road trip at Phoenix on Tuesday.

Sparks: Head to Phoenix on Thursday to start a four-game road trip.

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