Isabelle Harrison didn’t look rusty in her season debut for Toronto, scoring 14 points and helping the Tempo beat the Chicago Sky 85-68 in a wire-to-wire win at home on Sunday afternoon.
Harrison, who has been out with a hand injury she suffered in training camp, shot 6-of-9 from the floor, buried both 3-point attempts and also grabbed six rebounds.
Brittney Sykes lit up the scoreboard for 25 points to go along with seven rebounds to lead the Tempo (6-5) while Nyara Sabally finished with 15 points and six boards.
Laura Juskaite added 10 for Toronto, which improved to 1-1 in Commissioner’s Cup.
Azura Stevens recorded a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Sky (4-6), who have lost six of their last seven and are 1-2 in Commissioner’s Cup games. Rookie Gabriela Jaquez scored 11 in her return from a knee injury and Jacy Sheldon tallied 10 points.
Toronto opened the second half on a 6-0 lead, stretching its lead to 54-33 thanks to Sykes, who drew a foul on a jumper and made the ensuing free throw with 8:33 left.
Kamilla Cardoso ended the run on a layup with 7:53 to play, but the Tempo never lost its momentum and took a 70-53 advantage into the fourth.
Toronto defeated Chicago 111-104 on May 27 and got off to a strong start in this meeting behind eight early points from Sabally, who helped the Tempo build a 10-4 advantage with 6:38 to go, forcing Chicago to call a timeout.
The Tempo’s lead hit double digits after Harrison buried a 3-pointer for a 20-9 cushion at the 4:12 mark. Toronto led 29-15 after one, holding the Sky to 26.3% (5 of 19) shooting from the field.
An 8-0 run that began in the final minute of the first quarter carried into the second as the Tempo’s lead reached 35-15 after a couple of free throws from Julie Allemand with 8:37 left.
Sheldon’s corner 3-pointer with 7:54 left ended the drought and trimmed the deficit to 35-18.
The Sky got as close as 46-33 late in the half on a layup and free throw by Stevens with 1:10 left, but the Tempo went into halftime with a 48-33 lead.
Both teams shot under 40% from the floor, but the Tempo allowed a mere six points off of their 10 turnovers.
–Field Level Media
