Becky Hammon, who lost her first two games playing for Russia in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament, scored six points in a 79-52 victory over Mali in the fifth-place contest Tuesday.
Leading by nine at the half, Russia put the game away in the third quarter outscoring Mali 26-10. Tatiana Shchegoleva scored seven of Russia's first 12 points in the period, and Hammon scored the last six, giving Russia a 61-36 lead. Mali would get no closer than 19 points.
Shchegoleva and Ilona Korstin each scored 12 to lead Russia while Nagnouma Coulibaly had nine to top Mali.
Next up for Hammon and her Russian teammates is a rematch with Latvia in the team's Olympic opener Saturday. Latvia beat Russia in the opening game of the Diamond Ball tournament 75-69.
In its first trip to the Olympics, Mali will play New Zealand in its first game. In each of its three Diamond Ball games, Mali played well for stretches. It played host China tough for a half and gave Australia a competitive first quarter.
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