The WNBA’s two new expansion teams met over the weekend in Toronto, which meant we saw former Orange players Emily Engstler and Brittney Sykes on opposing sides.
Last year, the former Syracuse players were teammates on the Washington Mystics and in the first meeting, Engstler and the Portland Fire got a 99-80 win over Sykes’ Toronto Tempo squad. Engstler led the way for the Fire with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in 22 minutes of action.
Portland moved to 3-3 on the season, while Toronto dropped
to 3-4. It’s early but both expansion squads are holding their own to start the 2026 season.
It was a rough game for Sykes who scored 10 points and dished out 5 assists, but had 7 turnovers. Sykes had an outstanding road trip for Toronto as she scored over 25 points in three of the four games the Tempo played, helping the expansion team to wins at the Sparks and Mercury.
Sykes is still averaging 20.6 points and 4.7 assists per game- both career highs for the WNBA vet. Being trusted to lead the expansion franchise is giving Sykes freedom that she hasn’t had since her days with the Orange.
“Here, I’m getting to do what I want to do, which is score the ball, but also play both ends of the floor,” Sykes said. “[The coaches] understand the asset that I am and they let that go on full display. There’s a green light for me to just play my basketball.”
The two squads will face off again in Portland on August 6th. Syracuse’s other WNBA player, Kamilla Cardoso is averaging 14.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game for the 3-3 Chicago Sky. We’ll keep you updated on all three former Orange as the WNBA season continues.
