PARIS -- 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.
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. France led 71-67 with 27 seconds left after Celine Dumerc hit a jumper. Maya Moore made a 3-pointer 7 seconds later to make it a one-point game.
After the teams exchanged free throws, Dumerc made the first of two from the foul line before corralling her own miss with nine seconds left to seal the win.
Tina Charles scored 12 points to lead the U.S., which shot just 40 percent (27 for 67) from the field. Moore missed her first nine shots before hitting the 3 that brought the Americans within one. Diana Taurasi was 3 for 13 from the field.
The U.S. is still trying to finalize its roster before the world championship. The Americans brought 15 players to France for the three-day tournament. They beat Australia and China in the first two games playing everybody.
Skylar Diggins, Kayla McBride, Stefanie Dolson and Jantel Lavender didn't play on Sunday. The Americans are still awaiting word on whether 6-foot-8 center Brittney Griner can join the roster pool. She was sidelined by a retinal injury in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals and is awaiting doctor's clearance. With returning Olympians Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles out with injuries, the U.S. was lacking an inside presence against France.
The U.S. will head to the Czech Republic for one more exhibition game before opening up the world championship against China on Sept. 27.
