Italy lived on the three-point shot in the Preliminary Round.  Today they died by it in a 64-59 loss to Turkey. 

The two teams came into the game ranked one and two in the tournament from beyond the three-point arc, Italy hitting 43% and Turkey  38% of its triples.

While Turkey stayed true to form hitting seven of 12, the Italians shot a paltry 2-for-18 from downtown.

Giampero Ticchi's team couldn't get over the hump against Turkey.

Yet for Italian coach Giampiero Ticchi, the problem wasn't missing those 16 three-pointers. 

"Our target was to try and play a clear set in offense and get the ball inside," the Italian coach said.

"We didn't do that.  In the first half we took too many quick shots."

Ticchi will have to get his team on the right track soon.  They face Russia on Sunday and now have one win and two losses in the group.

The games opening moments were owned by Turkey's Nevin Kristen Nevlin. 

In less than five minutes the center already had ten points and it looked like she was on pace for a record night. 

But then she disappeared and ended up with just four more points in the contest.

"They were switching up the defenses a lot," Nevlin said. 

"They had post players changing up on me, but my teammates stepped up a lot.

"Maybe my first half helped them get open in the second."

One of those players switching up on her down low was Italian center Kathrin Ress, who shared duties with Marte Alexander guarding the Turkish star.

"With a player like that [Nevlin] you need to get her in foul trouble so that she is more conscious of her movements on defense because on offense it is tough to stop her.

"So we tried to play tough defense and push her out."

With Nevlin under Italian control, Turkey had an unlikely leader step up and lead the team to the win. 

Point guard Birsel Vardali paced her team with 18 points and hauled in a team-high nine boards, quite a feat for a player 1.73 meters tall.

Her biggest moments came down the stretch when the Italians were pressing and her team on the verge of a fourth-quarter collapse.

Laura Macchi (17 points, 10 rebounds) hit on a tough drive to cut the Turkish advantage to four at 61-57 near the six minute mark.

Vardali then scored seven points, four clutch free throws and a three-pointer, in the last 3:30 to keep her team ahead till the final buzzer.

"I want to congratulate my teammates, who never thought they were going to loose," she said.

She also took a moment to dedicate her great game.

"This weekend is Father's Day, and this game is a present for my father."

Turkey had the game in hand having built a 17 point lead capped by a steal that  Sariye Gokce turned into a lay-up at 3:30 from the end of the third quarter. 

Coach Ticchi called a time-out to stop the bleeding and his team responded.  Italy held Turkey to one free throw for the next eight minutes till Yasemin Horasan scored from inside with 5:31 to play. 

"In the second half we tried a different defense, but we never had a real shot at winning the game," said the Italian coach.

His Turkish counterpart Ceyhun Yildizoglu gave Italy credit for coming back and pushing his squad till the very end. 

"They [the Italians] hustled for 40 minutes," said the Turkish skipper, who now has to get his players ready to play France in 48 hours.

His trust in them is high after this win that puts his squad at two-and-one in Group F.

Ceyhun YILDIZOGLY, Head Coach, Turkey

"The Italian team is a very good one. We have great players; they can find solutions to problems themselves. We had a 16 points lead before the last quarter, they caught us and shared the lead, but we won. We have to concentrate ahead the game with France."

Giampiero TICCHI, Italy Head Coach

"Turkey played very well.  They have one of the best defenses in this tournament. We have to fight a lot to succeed. We were not good on offense in the first half.  We tried a different defense in the second half but didn't manage to win. We are mad about this loss."

Group F play gets under way with a clash between Italy and Turkey, both teams riding a two-game winning streak after opening-day losses in the Preliminary Round. 

These teams are no strangers.  They met twice last fall in qualifying, Turkey coming up victorious in both encounters, but seven months is a long time and both rosters have gone through major changes. 

Italy were missing sharp shooter Raefaella Mascriardi and forward Laura Macchi, their two top scorers so far in the tournament.  They lead the Azzurri with 17.3 and 12.3 points per game respectively.

Turkey, for their part, has seen center Nevin Kristen Nevlin step up to fill the whole left by Nevriye Yilmaz, who averaged 14 points in the two meetings with Italy last year.

Both teams carry over one-and-one records from the previous round as second seeds from their groups.  With France waiting for Turkey and Italy still to play Russia, both sides know that making the Quarterfinals may very well hinge on getting  a win today. 

Head-to-Head:  Turkey beat Italy twice, 63-55 and 80-61, in the qualifying for EuroBasket Women 2009 held less than a year ago.

Last Time Out:  Italy downed Belarus 67-58 while Turkey eliminated Serbia 65-55.

Key Match-Up:  Italy's big three vs. Turkey's inside-outside game.  The trio of Masciardi-Macchi-Ballardini are averaging 39 of their team's 68 points per game while Nevlin (11 points, 9 rebounds) and small forward Saziye Ivegin (13 points on 62.7% shooting from beyond the arc) provide a lethal combo for the Turks.   

Key Stat:  43% and 38%.  These are the respective three-point shooting percentages of Italy and Turkey, the two best teams from long range left in the tournament.

X-Factor:  How will Italy handle Turkey's aggressive defense, especially if the game is tight down the stretch. Against Belarus, even though they suffered late turnovers, the Italians managed to hold on for the win.  The Turkish pressure over forty minutes, however, is a different story altogether.