London, England – Evgeniya Belyakova scored 12 points to lead a balanced Russian attack in a 67-61 win over Great Britain in women's basketball.
Marina Kuzina chipped in 10 points for Russia, which wrapped up a spot in the quarterfinals and remained unbeaten at 3-0 to keep pace with France atop the Group B standings. Ilona Korstin and Olga Arteshina each scored nine points in the victory, while Becky Hammon contributed eight with six assists.
Natalie Stafford led Britain with 18 points and Johannah Leedham added 14 in defeat. The British fell to 0-3 in round-robin play.
Britain opened the contest with a 12-2 run, but managed just two more points the rest of the first period. Nadezhda Grishaeva capped the quarter with a bucket to give Russia a 16-14 lead and the British never moved in front again.
Leedham's two free throws early in the second pulled Britain within 22-20, but consecutive three-pointers from Belyakova and Hammon extended the Russian margin to eight and Kuzina hit a triple just before the halftime buzzer to send Russia to the break with a 39-27 advantage.
The British got as close as five late in the third quarter and went to the fourth down 52-45. Leedham's free throw with 56 seconds left pulled the host nation within 61-58, but she missed the second from the line and Russia scored the next six points to put it away.
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