Undefeated France handed reigning champions Russia their first loss of the 2009 EuroBasket Women, winning 72-66 to capture first place in the Qualification Round Group F.

Sandrine Gruda poured in 17 points while Celine Dumerc scored 16 points and Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui chipped in 12 points off the bench for the 5-0 French, who will face off with Greece in the Quarter-Finals.

"We are really happy to beat this great champion. They are a great country with a lot of tradition," said French coach Pierre Vincent, whose team was out-rebounded 40-27 but committed just nine turnovers while forcing 20 Russian turnovers.

Russia dropped to 4-1 with the loss for second place in the group, and they will take on hosts Latvia in the quarters.

Valeriy Tikhonenko's Russian squad played their first game with American point guard Becky Hammon, who arrived yesterday in Riga and led the Russians with 18 points.

"I thought we got off to a bit of a cold start and were not as focused on defense. And we let their good players start off well and it's difficult to stop good players in a groove," said Hammon.

Maria Stepanova scored 16 points for Russia while Ilona Korstin had 13 points and Svetlana Abrosimova chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.

"We can't describe the loss as one thing. It was a great game between two great teams. I don't remember one tournament where we would not lose one game. So for use it is kind of a good thing," said Abrosimova.

Russia initially took advantage of their quicker guards as Hammon hit her first shot - a driving lay-up - and Korstin converted to lay-ups as Russia built an 8-5 lead.

It was 14-9 for Russia with the French struggling to find an offensive rhythm. But Yacoubou-Dehoui put back an offensive rebound to start an 11-5 surge which also included Dumerc hitting her second three-ball of the first quarter for a 20-19 France lead.

Dumerc nailed her third triple in three attempts at the buzzer to knot the game at 23-23 after one period.
The French post players got out on the break with Gruda twice scoring before knifing through Stepanova and Irina Osipova for a lay-up and a 29-25 lead.

Hammon drilled a triple to help Russia pull back ahead 31-29. But an unsportsmanlike foul was called on Olga Arteshina and the French scored four points.

Yacoubou-Dehoui then took over with three baskets inside against the lighter Russian bigs and Gruda's break-away lay-up gave France a 41-33 lead.

Hammon however hit a three-ball just before the buzzer for a 41-36 France lead at the break.

Dumerc hit again from long range to start the second half but was answered by Hammon. And Stepanova's three-point play cut the gap to just 44-42.

The Russian offense could not solve the French defense and went scoreless for 7:33 and committed six turnovers. The French however could not execute offensively and led only 48-42. Korstin banked in a three-pointer from half-court at the buzzer to bring Russia within 50-47 after three quarters.

Stepanova's basket made it one-point game - 52-51 - before France scored on five straight possessions, including back-to-back triples by Celine Hermouet and Catherine Melain for a 10-point lead - 63-53.

The reigning champions would not go down without a fight and created two turnovers in scoring seven points in 1:30 to cut the deficit to 65-62 with three minutes to play.

Emilie Gomis made two free throws and then Dumerc made a long jumper with the shot clock winding down for a 69-62 advantage with two minutes left.

Rebecca HAMMON, Russia Guard

"I thought our start was slow, we let some good players get going. It`s difficult to stop them when they get into the groove."

Valeriy TIKHONENKO, Russia Head Coach

"We were weak in offense, and after good beginning we continued the one-on-one play. We won the battle of rebounds, however, we couldn't use it."

Pierre VINCENT, France Head Coach

"We are happy as Team Russia has won previous European Championships. We did a good job tonight for nothing because this is not a crucial game. We have to concentrate; we have three more games to win."

It's the game everybody has been waiting for, and the only match-up in the tournament between 4-0 teams. 

Undefeated France will take on invincible Russia in the final game of the Qualifying Round to determine which team will get a first seed in the Quarterfinals.

The game will feature the top defensive team versus the top rebounding team in the championship.  Russia hold opponents to only 52 points per game at 33% field goal shooting while France wipe the boards to a tune of 41 per outing, 13 coming off the offensive backboard.

Besides a tough three-quarter fight from Lithuania, Russia has not been seriously challenged in the tournament so far.  Russia has rolled over opponents, winning by an average of 17.8 points per game.  France is another story altogether, having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by three points or less in three of its five wins.

Russia, the reigning champs, go in favourites, but France has shown it has the mettle it takes to win the close ones.

Head-to-Head: Russia beat France 63-59 in the Preliminary Round of EuroBasket Women 2007.

Last Time Out:  France beat Turkey 55-43 while Russia downed Italy 67-59.

Key Match-Up: The battle in the paint.  There is no doubt that both team's strength is their inside game and the lane will be the ground the battle is decided upon.  France's Sandrine Gruda, Emmeline Ndongue, and Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui will square off against Russia's Maria Stepanova, Irina Osipova, and Marina Kuzina.

Key Stat:  1-of-5.  That's what Gruda shot from the field in her team's loss in 2007 against Russia. 

X-Factor:  Will Becky Hammon be in a Russian uniform for this game?  If she is, then will she be able to step in and lead a team in desperate need of a point guard who can run the show and cut down on their tournament-high 18 turnovers per game?

Sounding Off: "France is a new team with a lot of young players, but their most important players are Sandrine Gruda and Celine Dumerc.  They are their leaders, and if we can play defense on them and control them, we can win the game." - Russian captain Ilona Korstin on the key to a win.