Daughter of Houston Rockets coach had been battling lupus for some time

Nov 26, 2012 08:17 GMT  ·  By

The daughter of Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale, Alexandra “Sasha” McHale, has died over the weekend. She was only 23 years old and had been battling lupus for quite some time.

Nevertheless, details on the exact cause of death have not been released to the press at the time of writing.

Sports Yahoo! reports that McHale had been on a leave of absence from the team he coached since earlier this month, November 10, just so he could spend more time with his family in Minnesota.

No one knew Sasha’s condition had gotten so bad.

Her demise has been confirmed in a statement from Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.

“I extend my deepest condolences to Kevin and Lynn for the loss of their beautiful daughter, Sasha, on Saturday afternoon,” Alexander says, as cited by the aforementioned media outlet.

“Kevin and Lynn are loving and dedicated parents who will need our continued support throughout this very difficult time. Our entire organization is mourning the McHale family's loss and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” the owner adds.

For the time being, the McHale family has not released any statement regarding Sasha, the cause of death or funeral arrangements.

“The death of Sasha McHale was felt deeply in Minnesota, where she played high school ball for Totino-Grace before attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The newspaper reported that she helped her high school team win the Class 3A state championship in 2008,” Sports Yahoo! writes.

According to Lupus.org, lupus is an autoimmune chronic disease that cannot be cured, but which doesn’t necessarily eliminate the possibility of those diagnosed with it living a normal life span, with proper treatment and precautions.

Though not “universally fatal,” lupus can still end in untimely demise, mostly because of infection, kidney failure or heart disease.