Chicago’s Skylar Diggins needed a night like the one she delivered in Friday’s 85-80 win over the Connecticut Sun.
Diggins poured in 24 points to help the Sky (4-6) snap a five-game losing streak prior to Sunday’s road game with the expansion Toronto Tempo (5-5).
“My game plan was for me to play better,” Diggins said. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity. There are things out of our control and things that are in our control.
“I was trying to be aggressive and impose my will.”
Diggins is averaging 15.2 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds heading into the Commissioner’s Cup game.
And while Chicago aims to keep momentum going, Toronto looks to get it back after dropping a 97-82 road decision to the New York Liberty on Wednesday.
It was a homecoming for former Tempo coach Sandy Brondello, who coached the Liberty from 2022-25. Toronto had won two in a row before the loss to New York. Players credit the early success to the way Brondello coaches.
“She’s a really players-first coach,” Tempo forward Nyara Sabally told the Toronto Star. “She really tries to prioritize the players and also wants to work with them. It’s not like a dictatorship. It’s always an open line of communication, which helps building that trust.”
Sabally won a championship with Brondello in New York in 2024 and scored a career-high 29 points in a 111-104 win at Chicago on May 27.
Sabally averages 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. Brittney Sykes leads the Tempo at 19.6 points per contest. Marina Mabrey adds 18.5 and Kiki Rice chips in 12.7, although the rookie is expected to be out for an undetermined amount of time with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain.
Rice, the No. 6 pick in the 2026 draft, sustained the injury against New York on Wednesday.
“She’s a tough kid, but yeah, it’s unfortunate,” Brondello said after the game.
Chicago is battling a slew of injuries. Gabriela Jaquez, Courtney Vandersloot and Rickea Jackson missed Friday’s game with knee injuries and DiJonai Carrington sat out with a foot injury.
Despite it all, the Sky push forward.
“We want to make sure we are raising our ceiling and our floor,” Diggins said. “What is our standard of who we are going to be and what is our identity on both sides of the basketball.”
Chicago is 1-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play. Toronto is 0-1.
–Field Level Media
