Dream forward Sancho Lyttle will miss the next six games to compete for Spain’s national team at EuroBasket Women 2013, the team announced Wednesday.
The EuroBasket Women 2013 is being held June 15-30 in France. Lyttle will be suspended for the duration of her absence.
“She’s a near triple-double for us,” Dream coach Fred Williams said. “Rebounding, for one, and her defense, being one of the steal leaders in the league. My offensive schemes will be a little different without her getting those touches and hitting mid-range shots.”
Through five games this season, Lyttle has averaged 15.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 2.6 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, and the Dream is tied for first in the Eastern Conference with a 4-1 record.
Williams said he has options to fill the void left by Lyttle by playing Angel McCoughtry at power forward and possibly inserting Tiffany Hayes into the starting lineup.
“Definitely going to be a huge void without Sancho,” guard Jasmine Thomas said. “She’s a great defender, scorer and rebounder for us. So, everybody has to be focused on stepping up for the next few games.”
Lyttle will miss Friday’s game against Seattle at Philips Arena, as well as home games against Chicago (June 16), Indiana (June 25), Washington (June 28) and San Antonio (June 30). She also will miss a road game at Connecticut (June 23). Lyttle will return to action with the Dream on July 9 at Minnesota.
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