Serbia came from behind and scored an emphatic 88-70 triumph over Croatia in Group D at the EuroBasket Women in Ortona.
With Croatia leading 55-47 midway through the third quarter, Serbia went on a 21-1 run to take a 68-56 lead and they marched to victory.
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Emilija Podrug had 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
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Serbian guard Miljana Musovic led her team in scoring with 19 points while team-mate Ivana Grubor contributed 17 - including 10 in the third quarter.
"We have done three good things today," said Serbian coach Jovica Antonic.
"I have a young team and they got experience in this game. We were able to hit back even when we were down by 10 points.
"We have also won by a big margin which could be useful later on in this competition."
Croatia led 40-38 at the break and reeled off nine straight points at the start of the third quarter, with Sonja Kireta scoring seven points in that surge.
But Serbia hit back with a vengeance.
Despite missing their first six shots from the arc, Serbia finished six of 17 (35.2%) from long range while their opponents were three of 14 (21.4%).
Petra Stampalija had a game-high 20 points in defeat.
Serbia take on Spain on Tuesday while Croatia face Belarus.