July 1, 2005

Brno, Czech Republic – – With South Carolina rising senior forward Olga Gritsaeva scoring four points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds, the Russian Under-20 National Team claimed a 70-65 win over Poland Friday in preliminary round action at the 2005 FIBA European Championship for Under-20 Women.

Gritsaeva added a steal and two blocked shots to her stat line in lifting the Russians to victory.

Gritsaeva and the rest of the Russian team takes on Germany tomorrow as pool play continues. Germany lost a 77-65 decision to Italy Friday.

As the defending champions, Russia is considered as one of the tournament favorites.