Australia warmed up for the women's basketball World Championship with a gallant 72-66 loss to Team USA in Paris on Friday.
In a bright opening, the Opals established a seven-point lead before the Americans worked their way back to lead 28-27 at halftime .
They led by 10 points in the third quarter before a late Australian rally.
Veteran duo Belinda Snell (13 points and five rebounds) and Laura Hodges (10 points) led the way for the Opals after an injury forced centre Liz Cambage off early in the second quarter.
Rachel Jarry continued her form from the August tour of Europe, finishing with eight points and nine rebounds.
Fresh from their WNBA Championship triumph with the Phoenix Mercury, Erin Phillips and Penny Taylor worked their way back into the rotation, with Taylor (five points and three assists) playing 14 minutes as a starter and Phillips (four points, four rebounds and four assists) moving off the bench to play 21 minutes.
For the US, Breanna Stewart scored nine points with seven each from Maya Moore and Nneka Ogwumike.
Next up for the Opals is a clash with tournament hosts France on Saturday.
They open their World Championship campaign in Turkey against Cuba the following Saturday.
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