Short-handed Toronto Tempo trying to soldier on without Sykes, Rice and Fagbenle

TORONTO — Head coach Sandy Brondello nodded in sad agreement as Toronto Tempo guard Julie Allemand vented about their team’s injury woes.

Allemand led Toronto with 15 points and five rebounds as the Tempo fell to the Washington Mystics 79-62 on Tuesday. It was Toronto’s lowest points total in its inaugural season as the team tried to soldier on without Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice and Temi Fagbenle.

“We miss them on the court, and we can’t wait for them to be back because, I think since the beginning of the season, I’m wondering if we had one game with the full roster,” said Allemand, sitting at the post-game podium with Brondello and forward Nyara Sabally. “This is insane, and this is sad also because, like, imagine if we have the full roster. It would be great.

“We just focus game by game, day by day, and we can’t wait for them to come back.”

Allemand was correct that Toronto has yet to have its full roster in its first-ever WNBA season.

Sabally missed three games with a right hamstring injury earlier in the season then Rice went down with a left ankle sprain on June 3. Sykes has been out since June 16 with left plantar fascia and Fagbenle has been in the league’s concussion protocol since June 27.

“It’s not easy, of course,” said Allemand. “It’s not easy, but it’s been weeks now, even months, I think.”

Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin each had a double-double in the Mystics’ (12-10) victory. Iriafen had 25 points, 13 in the second half, and 14 rebounds as Washington surged ahead in the third quarter. Austin added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Sabally came off the Tempo (10-14) bench for 13 points and four rebounds. Isabelle Harrison and all-star guard Marina Mabrey had eight points apiece. Toronto’s previous scoring low was a 68-65 loss to Washington in its first-ever regular season game on May 8.

The Mystics outrebounded the Tempo 46-26 on Tuesday and got 20 second-chance points compared to the Toronto’s three.

“I think they just came with more force, to be quite honest,” said Brondello. “They’re tough (…) and they’re big players, and they put them in a lot of their action to get downhill.

“They’re trying to post up (…) they move well around the ball, and you know, they were just a handful for us.”

Sykes, Rice and Fagbenle were all key pieces as Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers built the team’s first-ever lineup. Sykes and Fagbenle were both big free-agent signings and Rice was taken sixth overall by Toronto in the first round of the WNBA’s draft.

At the time of her injury Sykes was averaging 20.1 points per game, second most on the team behind all-star Marina Mabrey. She was also averaging 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

Rice is averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in her rookie season and Fagbenle had 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

“It’s not only about the bigs, about the rebounding. It’s also about us,” said Allemand on what went wrong against the Mystics. “When they are really physical like this, I think that we need to be better as a team on defence.

“We can help each other, and I think that’s what we were missing in the second half.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press