FRA - Torrens and Lyttle take Spain back to big stage
Women in sport, womenssport, women's sport, woman, sports, sport, professional sports women
ORCHIES (EuroBasket Women/FIBA World Championship for Women) - It was a painful experience for Spain when they missed out on the London Olympics last year, but now they will be back competing at the global level after stamping their pass for the FIBA World Championship for Women next summer.
Spain romped to a 75-58 success against Czech Republic in Orchies, fuelled by a spectacular 52 combined points from Alba Torrens and Sancho Lyttle.
Torrens in particular caught the hot-hand right from the tip-off, accumulating 20 points before the midway point of the second quarter as Spain raced into a commanding 25-8 lead.
Czech Republic did rally and showed great heart as they actually fought back to wipe out the arrears and draw level at 41-41.
But, sparked by a nice little cameo by Amaya Valdemoro, she got her team back on track as they caught fire again to coast home.
Despite losing a big lead, head coach Lucas Mondelo was left very satisfied after the game.
"This win was very important because we now have a passport to the FIBA World Championship for Women - something which was always our main priority," he said.
"We didn't make many mistakes and it's always hard for another team to beat you when you only have six turnovers.
"Czech Republic competed really well and it was a difficult game, because it was a Quarter-Final and nothing is easy at this stage."
Lyttle completed yet another double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds, whilst the rampant Torrens finished with 29 points.
Spain will now face Serbia in Friday's Semi-Finals, whilst Czech Republic tussle with Italy on Thursday as both teams try to keep their FIBA World Championship for Women dream alive.
