France turned up the heat on defense in the fourth quarter and broke open a close game to win 64-48 over Italy and clinch second place in Group C at the EuroBasket Women.

Sandrine Gruda led France with 14 points, which included a 10 of 12 (83.3%) effort at the free throw line.

After taking a 30-16 lead at the beginning of the third quarter on a pair of Celine Dumerc

		Emilie Gomis had 11 points and six rebounds for France in the win.

free throws, the French allowed Italy to claw their way back into the game.

Dubravka Dacic, having struggled on offense in this tournament, discovered her shooting touch and scored six points while also coming to life on defense in a 15-2 Azzurre run.

A three-point play by 18-year-old guard Giorgia Sottana capped the surge for Italy and made it 32-31 with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.

Italy, spurred on by the partisan crowd in the Palasport S.Filomena, were on the verge of moving in front.

But Edwige Lawson-Wade went to the other end for France and delivered the biggest shot of the game, nailing a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down.

France would end up finishing the third quarter with a 39-35 lead, and after talking about turning up the pressure on defense in the team huddle in between quarters, Jacques Commeres’ team delivered the knockout blow with a 14-2 run to start the final period.

“We knew it was going to be a really tough game,” said France’s Emmeline Ndongue, who had nine points and six rebounds.

“We began well on defense, we made a good start and I think it made the game. At half-time, it was good. They came back in the second half and it was tougher, we had a problem.

“But we answered that. We defended harder and it was good for the team because we reacted together.”

In truth, both teams were outstanding on defense, which led to 16 turnovers for each side. 

The French effort was so great in the opening quarter that they led 11-6 with Italy just three of 17 (17.6%) from the floor.

By half-time, the EuroBasket Women hosts were just six of 29 from the field (20.7%) and France seemed to be in control with a 28-16 advantage.

Italy stormed back in the third quarter, but France’s defense won the day.

 “Our strength is our defense,” Ndongue said. “We react first by this. When we are a little bit lost, we just defend harder.

“I think this game was a very important one for us,” said France coach Jacques Commeres.

“From the beginning of our training camp, we knew this would be a difficult group because Greece was a difficult first game, everyone knows Russia, and the Italian team is a very good team, very organised with a very good preparation and good shape.”

Russia, who played Greece in Group C’s second game on Wednesday, will go into the qualifying round as the leaders of the Chieti pool with France second and Italy third.

Gianni Lambruschi, the Italy coach, said: “Today on offense, we didn’t play well against a physical, technically sound defense.

“That was the key to the game. There was too much confusion in our offense.

“We need more organisation in our offense. We have to use the whole team in attack, and not individuals. This game will be good for us for (the rest of) the European Championship.”

Italy’s Laura Macchi, who had 15 points to lead all scorers on five of 14 shooting from the field, said: “We lost a great opportunity, coming back in the second half.

“We took some bad shots. Three quarters of the game we played better, but this wasn’t enough to come out and win.”

Second place in Group C of the EuroBasket Women is up for grabs when Italy meet France in Chieti on Wednesday afternoon.

Edged by Russia in their first game, the Azzurre had the perfect reply with a convincing win over Greece – the first in eight years in the final round of a EuroBasket for the Italians.

And they pulled off the feat with a surprise move by winning coach Gianni Lambruschi, who opted to play with a smaller line-up instead of utilizing Dubrivka Dacic, their 1.98m center.

“It will be a different game tomorrow (Wednesday),” Italy coach Gianni Lambruschi said.

“Tomorrow, we can play with our big girl inside. Today, she took the day off because we needed to run.

“Tomorrow will be a physical game inside. I think we must work hard against France’s players inside.”

The French followed up their opening day win against the Greeks with a loss to Russia.

		Sandrine Gruda is averaging 10 points per game in France's first two contests.

They trailed by 17 points midway through the third quarter but twice closed the gap to just one late in the fourth quarter before falling.

“The most important thing for us is tomorrow,” said France coach Jacques Commeres.

Last Result: Italy defeated Greece, 65-55 and France lost to Russia, 63-59.

Key Match-up: Italy’s Dacic v France’s Sandra Dijon. Dacic did not score many points against Russia but Italy coach Lambruschi felt his big center was very combative and will be looking for more of the same against France’s low post players like Dijon and Sandrine Gruda.

Key Stat: France are shooting just 35.9% (33 of 92) inside the arc and 28.6% (eight of 28) from three-point range in their two games.

X-Factor: Emilie Gomis nearly led France to a stunning come-from-behind win over Russia. Averaging 13 points per contest, the athletic 1.80m guard raises the intensity of Les Bleues when she is on the floor and should cause some problems for Italy’s veteran guard, Francesca Zara.

Speaking Out: “They will be excited, we’ll be down. We’ll have to come back and play with heart. We know it’s going to be a tough game” – France veteran Audrey Sauret-Gillespie