BEIJING (Olympics) – Russia led world champions Australia by as many as 16 points in the first half but the Opals increased the intensity on defense and finally found a way to score in 75-55 triumph.

In a rematch of the 2006 FIBA World Championship, the Aussies and Russians both went into the game undefeated and looking to finish top of Group A to avoid a potential semi-final against three-time defending champions the United States.

European champions Russia could hardly have put themselves in a better position at half-time when they held a 37-25 advantage after getting 16 points from American-born Becky Hammon.

But Australia knocked them off the rails in the third quarter, outscoring them 30-10 for a 55-47 lead and Jan Stirling’s team pressed home the advantage over the final 10 minutes.

Australia didn’t control the boards in the first half after claiming 25 to Russia’s 24, but they ended up with a 53-36 advantage in rebounds by the end of the game.

Jackson was clearly relieved and almost cried when speaking to reporters immediately after the game.

"When you are 20 (actually 16) points down and suddenly look up there and you see your dream slipping away, something clicks in,” Jackson said.

"I feel emotional. We needed to win this game so bad.

“It was a crucial win because we want to meet Team USA in the final.

"We cannot take anything away from Russia, they are a great team but for us, this was an important win."

Jackson and Belinda Snell each had 16 points to lead the Australians, with the former pouring in 12 over the final two quarters and Snell adding 11 in the second half.

Kristi Harrower, the Opals point guard, said to FIBA.com: “We were ready to play, but once our shots didn't drop in the first half, we were finding it hard against their zone.

“Then we decided at half-time to run some of our man-to-man plays against their zones to see if that would work and we just had to knock our few shots down and we had the momentum our way.”

CSKA Moscow and San Antonio guard Hammon, who is accustomed to facing many of the Australians in both Russia and the WNBA, believed the Opals’ success had more to do with her team’s lack of execution.

 "Our defense collapsed in the second half,” she said to FIBA.com.

“They are a very good team but they weren't making their shots in the first half.

“We were beating them on the boards by half-time but when you are outrebounded by 15 or 20 boards it makes life difficult unless you are making every shot which we weren't.

"If there is anything Australia are known for, it’s being fighters and being very competitive. We knew they weren't going away.

“Unfortunately, they got a lot of momentum in the first five minutes (of the third quarter) and never looked back.

"We will learn from it. In the first half we showed we can play against a very good team. The other thing we need to learn is that a game is a full 40 minutes not 20 minutes. We have to do a better job on the boards and be a bit more disciplined.

"We are improving but we have a lot of improvement to go. It's not over. We still have a lot of work to do."

Hammon finished with 20 points and Svetlana Abrosimova 16.

Russia center Maria Stepanova’s struggles continued. Hammon’s CSKA Moscow teammate missed all seven of her shots from the field and finished with just three points.

Hammon admits the Australians have a good chance to win the gold medal.

"Whenever you have Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor in a team, you have a chance (to go for gold)," she said.

FIBA