It took two games for Dream fans to remember why Sancho Lyttle is a valuable member of the team.
Lyttle scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high and team-record 21 rebounds in Saturday’s 90-88 overtime win at Indiana. The Dream will try to improve to 3-0 at Chicago on Saturday, followed by a home game against the Fever at Philips Arena on Sunday.
“I didn’t know I was up there until the first overtime,” she said of her rebounds. “Once we’re winning, if it comes it comes.”
The Dream missed not only Lyttle’s ability to rebound, but her skills as a passer and defender for most of last season.
The Dream started 4-1 with Lyttle in the lineup before she left to represent Spain in the European championships, where she led her team to the gold medal. The Dream hadn’t missed a beat in her month-long absence, winning six consecutive games to improve to 10-1.
In her first game back, at Minnesota, Lyttle suffered a broken bone in her left foot and missed the rest of the season. After that turbo-charged start, perhaps deflated by the loss of Lyttle, the team finished the regular season with a 17-17 record. They still advanced to the finals, something Lyttle said she was grateful for, but were swept by Minnesota. Lyttle said the hardest part was watching the team lose, knowing that if she were in the lineup the outcomes might have been different.
“Something was missing, that extra spark, that extra rebound, that ability to get steals,” teammate Angel McCoughtry said. “She can do things a guard does. Not having her was a big factor last year. Glad to have her back.”
Lyttle said her foot healed enough to resume playing in late December, but it took her slightly longer to heal mentally.
“I was still feeling all the pressure from my body on my feet,” she said in her musical Caribbean accent. “I stopped feeling that pain in February. My jump got a little bit better, my movement got a little bit better and I felt more comfortable while playing.”
Even before she was fully healthy, Lyttle went on a rampage.
She helped Galatasaray win the Turkish Cup in January and followed that by helping them win the EuroLeague title in April. She followed that by leading her team to its first Turkish League championship in 14 years. Lyttle scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the deciding game.
“That’s where the confidence came from,” she said. “(I know) I can still have a little bit of pain and push myself through the pain and help the team.”
Because of their responsibilities in Europe, neither Lyttle nor McCoughtry joined the Dream until a few days before the season opener against San Antonio. Still learning her teammates, Lyttle wasn’t as effective in the first game, with eight points and three rebounds.
“I have to get to know the players a little bit more to know where they are comfortable on defense,” she said.
As she grows comfortable, she will grow as an asset on offense and defense. On offense, coach Michael Cooper said Lyttle’s ability to make the mid-range jumper will prevent teams from trying to double-team center Erika de Souza. Should Lyttle choose not to shoot, her passing ability may provide de Souza opportunities for easy baskets inside.
Cooper said he’s even comfortable with her ability to run the offense from the high post. She averaged 9.2 points and 1.4 assists per game in nine years in the league heading into the season. In five of those seasons with the Dream, she averaged 12.8 points and 2.2 assists per game.
On defense, Cooper likes her ability to guard small forwards or big forwards. She averaged 6.4 rebounds per game in nine seasons before this one.
“I play now to make sure that last year wasn’t a failure on my part,” Lyttle said. “Now I have to push more for this team.”
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