France staged a terrific fourth quarter fightback but Russia, who got 19 points and seven rebounds from Maria Stepanova, held on to win 63-59 on the second day of Group C action at the EuroBasket Women.

With Russia in command and leading 47-30 almost six minutes into the second half, Les Bleues looked dead and buried.

		Sandrine Gruda had only six points in the loss.

But sparked by the sensational bench play of Emilie Gomis and Sabrina Reghaissia, the French fought back and twice closed the gap to just one point late in the fourth quarter.

A Gomis lay-up cut the deficit to 56-55 with 4:00 remaining, only for Oxana Rakhmatulina to reply with a drive to the basket at the other end.

Gomis, who went in strong for another lay-up to take her points haul to a team-high 16 and make it 58-57 with 3:15 remaining, again put the pressure on Igor Grudin’s team.

But Rakhmatulina, possibly the most unsung of the Russian players in recent international tournaments, again had an answer.

This time, with the shot clock down to just two seconds, the point guard buried a three-pointer to make it 61-57.

When play resumed, Natalia Vodopyanova stole the ball from Isabelle Yacoubou and Russia had possession.

Nevertheless, France got the ball back and Sandrine Gruda made a pair of free throws to reduce the lead to 61-59 with 1:12 remaining.

But Russia held their nerve with Vodopyanova going in for a lay-up.

They would end up winning by four.

“The shot (three-pointer) by Oxana was the play of the game,” said Russian forward Svetlana Abrosimova.

Rakhmatulina finished with 12 points on four of seven shooting.

“We’re not surprised France were able to come back,” Abrosimova added. “They did that last year in Brazil against us.”

France coach Jacques Commeres took no consolation in the way his time fought back, however.

“When we lose a game, it’s always hard to talk about the positive side of a game,” he said.

“We understand that the players fight a lot and give a lot, but we can’t come out of a loss and just think about positive things.”

France now take on Italy in a battle for second place in Group C.

“The most important thing for us is tomorrow,” Commeres  added.

France’s Edwige Lawson-Wade will come face-to-face with many of her CSKA Moscow teammates when Les Bleues take on Russia in a glitzy Group C showdown on Tuesday in Chieti.

The French were gold medalists six years ago while Russia won the title in 2003 – the  last time Lawson-Wade played for France before returning to the French team this summer.

		Maria Stepanova and her teammates struggled with Italy's physical style.

Lawson-Wade, a real star with CSKA, is a leader on this team and it’s a role she likes.

“The role of Audrey (Sauret-Gillespie), Sandra (Le Drean) and me is very important,” Lawson-Wade said.

“We have the most experience, and we have to talk a lot and offer leadership and we are talking a lot.

“They (the young players) need us to talk and they are coming to me and listening, so it’s going well.

“I would say the team chemistry is great.”

Russia did not like the tough, physical defense of the Italians and that is something France will have noticed.

Last result: Russia beat Italy 60-55, France defeated Greece 58-50.

Key Match-up: France’s Sandra Dijon and Sandrine Gruda v Russia’s Maria Stepanova and Irina Osipova. Neither side will give away too much inside. Dijon is a physical player who has a chance to make her mark on this EuroBasket. Gruda was FIBA Europe’s Young Player of the Year while Stepanova was FIBA Europe’s Player of the Year. Osipova excelled at the EuroLeague Women Final Four but must bring some toughness to this Russian team.

Key Stat: Russia turned the ball over 23 times against Italy, France forced Greece into 24 turnovers.

X-Factor: Emilie Gomis plays as if she has a chip on her shoulder when coming off the bench for the French and that kind of attitude will be needed against Russia’s talented backcourt when Gomis should play a lot of minutes. She had 10 points, three rebounds and a coupe of steals against Greece.

Speaking out: “The way the game of basketball is developing, every team is going to play very physical (defense)” – Russia coach Igor Grudin