France upsets U.S. women’s basketball team
Sandrine Gruda had 26 points and 15 rebounds to help France stun the U.S. women’s national team 76-72 in an exhibition game on Sunday in Paris. It’s the first loss by the Americans in an international game since falling to a team from the Czech Republic in 2011 when the U.S. was on a European tour. The Americans, who beat the French by 36 points in the gold medal game at the Olympics in 2012, had a 12-point halftime lead and were up 60-52 with 6:39 left in the game before the hosts rallied. “We talked to the players about how difficult all this is going to be,” U.S. coach Geno Auriemma (in photo) said. “Sometimes maybe we think this is going to be easy, but it’s not going to be easy. It’s not easy to beat a really good team on their home floor …” Associated Press