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Sykes Clutch Free Throw Wins Unrivaled Championship
3/18/2025 12:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Syracuse alum Brittney Sykes drew an an-1 on the final play of the game in Monday night's Unrivaled Championship against Vinyl and netted the free throw to secure the win for her squad Rose, which capped off the first season of the new women's 3-on-3 league. After starting the season 1-4, Rose lose Kahleah Copper to injury and was without star Angel Reese the team banded together and earned themselves each $50,000 in prize money on top of their base salary for Unrivaled.
Unrivaled's format features three seven-minute quarters and a fourth quarter played toward a "winning score," which is calculated by adding 11 points to the leading team's score entering the final period.
Sykes a two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection, had a season-high 21 points in Monday's championship game. She was 9-for-17 from the field and added five defensive rebounds, two steals and two assists in the win. Sykes averaged 11.9 points per game in this season and scored in double figures in eight of the 14 league games.Â
A 2017 graduate of Syracuse University, Sykes was drafted by the Atlanta Dream seventh overall in the 2017 WNBA Draft. After three seasons in Atlanta she signed with Los Angeles where she played for three seasons. The last two years she has been with the Washington Mystics. In her first season in the Capitol, she played and started in all 40 games in 2023 averaging 15.9 points per game, a career-high. She missed half the 2024 season due to injury appearing in 18 games and finished with 12.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.Â
At Syracuse, Sykes was part of one of the most historic eras of Syracuse women's basketball history. She played in 138 games for the Orange with 137 starts and helped guide Syracuse to the 2016 Final Four, its first appearance in program history. Sykes earned All-America honors and graduated third in program history in career points (1,846).Â
For more on the Syracuse women's basketball team, follow @cusewbb on social media.Â
Unrivaled's format features three seven-minute quarters and a fourth quarter played toward a "winning score," which is calculated by adding 11 points to the leading team's score entering the final period.
Sykes a two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection, had a season-high 21 points in Monday's championship game. She was 9-for-17 from the field and added five defensive rebounds, two steals and two assists in the win. Sykes averaged 11.9 points per game in this season and scored in double figures in eight of the 14 league games.Â
A 2017 graduate of Syracuse University, Sykes was drafted by the Atlanta Dream seventh overall in the 2017 WNBA Draft. After three seasons in Atlanta she signed with Los Angeles where she played for three seasons. The last two years she has been with the Washington Mystics. In her first season in the Capitol, she played and started in all 40 games in 2023 averaging 15.9 points per game, a career-high. She missed half the 2024 season due to injury appearing in 18 games and finished with 12.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.Â
At Syracuse, Sykes was part of one of the most historic eras of Syracuse women's basketball history. She played in 138 games for the Orange with 137 starts and helped guide Syracuse to the 2016 Final Four, its first appearance in program history. Sykes earned All-America honors and graduated third in program history in career points (1,846).Â
For more on the Syracuse women's basketball team, follow @cusewbb on social media.Â
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