Tempo’s Brittney Sykes made an unusual request to Toronto fans after another clutch performance originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Brittney Sykes on Wednesday tied her season high with 38 points as the Toronto Tempo held off the feisty Connecticut Sun in an overtime thriller at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
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However, Sykes’ comments after the game raised some eyebrows in Toronto and revealed a certain player preference that fans don’t always take into account.
Sykes — the WNBA’s third-leading scorer — stepped up to the free-throw line with 10.7 seconds left in overtime and the Tempo leading 104-102.
The All-Star guard calmly knocked down both free throws as Toronto won 106-102. But after the game, she said she wanted more noise from the Tempo fans as opposed to nervous silence.
“I hope the fans hear this: never be that quiet,” Sykes said. “I believe in the work that I’ve done, but the pin drop silence, I was like ‘damn…if I miss it, you’re gonna hear it all around (the arena).'”
MORE: Brittney Sykes is doing something no one else in WNBA has done this season
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Yet despite the silence, Sykes polished off a masterful performance in what is fast becoming a career year.
Now in her 10th WNBA season, Sykes is averaging 21.6 points per game, and the 32-year-old is second behind only reigning MVP A’ja Wilson with 259 total points scored.
The Tempo’s gamble to sign Sykes and Marina Mabrey to twin million-dollar contracts is already paying off handsomely. Both players might well be All-Stars as they helm one of the WNBA’s most explosive offenses.
Toronto ranks second in the WNBA in offensive rating, and the expansion Tempo is one of the season’s early surprises with a 7-5 record.
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