Italy fought back from a 22-point deficit late in the first half to knock off 2009 EuroBasket Women hosts Latvia 68-66 in overtime and book their spot in the fifth place game.

Laura Macchi and Rafaella Masciadri combined for 38 points to lead the way for Giampiero Ticchi's team, which will face off against Greece for fifth place for a spot in the 2010 FIBA World Championship Women and the 2011 EuroBasket Women.

Macchi collected 20 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals while Masciadri added 18 points and seven rebounds for Italy, which trailed 39-17 with two minutes left in the first half.

"It was a pride game after the first half. I was trying to let the team understand everything we did here. And that this game would destroy everything we did," said Ticchi, whose team held Latvia to 24 percent shooting after the first period.

"We were tired. Yesterday we finished very, very late. We did not have the same power today. And that's the reason we could not play like we started the whole time," said Latvian coach Ainars Zvirgzdins, whose team will face Slovakia in the seventh place game.

"The Italian team played very aggressive defense. It was hard for us to get an open shot. And that was the result."

Zvirgzdins announced after the game that he will step down as Latvia national team coach following Saturday's seventh place game.

"The team lost twice in a row. And it's my fault. I recognise that," said the coach.

Gunta Basko led Latvia with 22 points while Zane Tamane added 13 points and Anete Jakobsone-Zogota was held to 12 points - more than 10 points below her average.

Latvia hit their first six shots from the field and eight of nine in opening a 16-5 early lead. Basko's triple made it a 14-point game before Italy showed some fight in cutting it to 19-9. But Latvia pushed the lead grew to 25-10 lead after one period.

Ticchi's team went scoreless the first five minutes of the second quarter. But Latvia hit just one basket in the same period but then pushed the advantage to 22 points on Basko's three-ball to make it 34-12. And it was 39-17 with two minutes left in the first half.

Italy's offense picked up a little as Maria Franchini knocked down a three-pointer and converted a three-point play and Masciadri's triple cut the margin to 39-23 at half-time.

Italy began chipping away at the lead with Marte Alexander playing a crucial role, scoring seven of her points in a 14-4 run to cut the margin to 47-37.

Macchi drained a jumper and Katherin Ress made two foul shots to cut the gap to 50-41 after three quarters.

The Latvian advantage was still 12 points, 53-41 after Aija Brumiermane's foul shot with 7:19 to play.

But Roberta Meneghel hit a three-pointer - her first basket of the tournament - and Macchi followed suit with a long ball of her own to start a 14-1 run which gave Italy the lead 55-54 with 2:27 left.

Latvia went back ahead 57-55 before Masciadri drained a triple and Macchi hit a tough driving layup for a 60-59 lead with 31 ticks left.

Basko's nailed a huge triple with 16 seconds. But Latvia sent Mariangela Cirone to the foul line and hit both free throws to knot the game with 12 seconds left.

And Jekabsone's jumper was off target at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Jekabsone set up an easy lay-up for Tamane and hit her own lay-up to make it 66-64.

Simona Ballardini tied the game with two foul shots before Anda Eibele missed her second and third three-point attempts in overtime for Latvia. Macchi hit a tough driving lay-up with 13 seconds and Latvia could not get a shot off at the buzzer to try and knot the game.

Hosts Latvia have about 17 hours to re-motivate themselves and take on Italy in the 2009 EuroBasket Women Classification Round for 5th to 8th place.

The winner will take on either Greece or Slovakia on Saturday for fifth place, which means direct qualification for the 2010 FIBA World Championship Women and the 2011 EuroBasket Women.

Latvia just could not execute down the stretch in losing in overtime against Russia in the quarter-finals. And now Latvia coach Ainars Zvirgzdins must build back up the team's spirit and hope they come out with a sense of urgency.

Italian boss Giampiero Ticchi meanwhile knows his team is just two wins from shocking many observers and qualifying for 2010 and 2011. His Italian side had an extra day off compared to Latvia and that could make a big difference.

Head-to-Head:  These two days have not faced off since qualifying for the 1999 EuroBasket Women and the tournament in Poland - both won by Latvia. Italy beat Latvia in the qualifiers on their way to capturing silver in Czech Republic.

Last Time Out:  Italy were beaten 61-42 against Spain in the Quarter-Finals. And tournament hosts Latvia suffered a heart-breaking 69-64 over-time loss in the quarters.

Key Match-Up: Latvia's Anete Jekabsone-Zogota vs. Raffaella Masciadri of Italy.  This small forward showdown should decide the game. The tournametn's leading scorer (22.4 points) Jekabsone-Zogota struggled shooting against Russia in the quarter-finals (8 of 24). But she will come out guns a-blazin' knowing the stakes. Masciadri will not stop Jekabsone, but slowing her down would be a huge help for the Italians.

Key Stat: 29. That is Italy's three-point percentage in their last four games. It's no surprise that they have lost three of those games. The trio of Simona Ballardini, Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri will need to be on target for Italy to remain alive in the running for fifth place.

X-Factor: Arena Riga crowd.  The Riga venue saw a record 8,713 spectators come out for Thursday's quarter-finals. With a spot in the 2010 World Championship still up for grabs, the question remains how many fans will show up for a 3:45 p.m. match-up. But the team will need that support.

Sounding Off: "They have a lot of players who can play a lot of positions. They are better outside like us. They also have a big center inside. I think Latvia is closer than us." Italy forward Raffaella Masciadri