Spartak Moscow Region got a fright but finally knocked Maxima Broker Kosice from the ranks of the unbeaten on Wednesday evening in the EuroLeague Women.

USA international Diana Taurasi scored 13 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as Spartak improved to 3-1 along with Kosice in Group D.

The two-time defending champions trailed Maxima Broker 53-42 early in the second half after a three-pointer by the home side's Liron Cohen and  they were still behind at 61-55 with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter after a Cohen lay-up.

Kosice battled but ultimately couldn't stop Spartak and Taurasi, who buried a three-pointer to knot the game at 61-61 before Lauren Jackson's three-point play put Spartak in front for good at 64-61.

Over the final 10 minutes, Spartak outscored the home side 25-12.

Spartak did a lot of their damage at the free throw line, making 22 of 26 (84.6%) compared to Maxima Broker's 13-of-19 (68.4%) effort.

Taurasi's fellow USA international Sylvia Fowles played almost 30 minutes and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Jackson scored 14 pulled down six boards.

Sidney Spencer, one of the revelations in this year's EuroLeague Women, poured in 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Kosice while Israel national team star Cohen scored 17.

The Slovakian outfit's Cathrine Kraayeveld also weighed in with 15 points and nine boards.

Štefan Svitek (Maxima Broker head coach):

"We were leading until late in the third quarter but in the end Spartak tightened their defense. Still it was a good match against a team loaded with super-stars. We had a chance, we believed that we can win this match and until the fourth quarter it was a completely open game."

Cathrine Kraayeveld (Maxima Broker forward):

"Moscow is an excellent team, very strong in all areas, today mostly in defensive rebounds. We fought hard and the first three quarters were very good. In the last quarter we stopped making shots and we did more mistakes in defence."

Pokey Chapman (Spartak Moscow Region assistant coach):

"I knew that Kosice are even stronger this season. They have a long tradition and great fans. They fought for the victory. I think that they have a strong team spirit, they play hard and smart. The spectators saw a very good match tonight."