France held off a mighty Spain 62-58 to stay perfect at the U18 European Championship for Women.

The win meant that Les Bleus are one of only two undefeated teams in the tournament - Lithuania being the other - and with a minimum of nine points are through to the semi-finals.

Aurime Rinkeviciute hit a clutch pair of free-throws with 23 seconds left as Lithuania held off the Slovak Republic 55-52 and remained unbeaten in the U18 European Championship for Women.

The result was a crushing blow for the host nation who dropped to 2-2 in Group E of the Qualifying Round, while the Lithuanians are certainly assured of a place in the semi-finals with a 4-0 mark.

Russia used a 16-1 spurt right after the break to open a double-digit lead and see off defending champions Serbia 74-55 in the U18 European Championship for Women.

The Russians trailed 31-29 at the break, but came out all guns blazing to outscore their opponents 25-12 in the pivotal third quarter.

A strong push late in the third quarter propelled Poland past the Ukraine 73-64 in the U18 European Championship for Women.

The result sees Poland improve to 2-2 in Group E of the Qualifying Round while their opponents dropped to 1-3.

Yet another three-point barrage proved the winning formula for Sweden as they beat Bulgaria 73-60 in the U18 European Championship for Women.

The Bulgarians got off to a quick start and were up 9-6 following Stefka Nikolova's lay up. But Frida Fogdemark and Jennifer Kucukkaya found their stroke from downtown to spearhead an 11-0 run that swung the game in Sweden's favour as they took a 21-11 lead heading into the second quarter. They were able to cruise from that point onwards.

The title may not have been at stake on Tuesday when Spain beat the defending champions Serbia 76-64 in a re-match of last year's final, but a few members of the Spanish team will admit that the result gave them at least a partial revenge.

"It was a very important win because it got us off to a good start in the Qualifying Round and we know that in our group there are no easy games," said head coach Carlos Colinas, who was in charge when the Spaniards were crushed 72-48 in last year's final of the U18 European Championship for Women in Novi Sad.

Cleopatra Forsman went on a personal 13-0 run in the third quarter as Sweden stunned Russia 65-56 in the U18 European Championship for Women.

The result saw Jan Enjebos girls improve to 1-2 in Group F of the Qualifying Round and in the process handed the mighty Russians their first loss of the tournament.

France scored the game's first 17 points as they cruised to a 90-44 demolition of Bulgaria.

Diandra Tchatchouang filled the stats sheet with 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two assists as Les Bleus remained unbeaten (4-0) in the competition to top Group F in the Qualifying Round.

Lithuania scorched the Ukraine with six three-pointers in the second quarter to secure a 71-52 win in the U18 European Championship for Women.

Aurime Rinkeviciute hit four of seven attempts from downtown in the first half to help Lithuania remain one of only two teams - France being the other - still undefeated (4-0) in the tournament. Marina Solopova had a team-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.

Turkey rallied back from a 10-point half-time deficit to beat the Slovak Republic 57-53 in the U18 European Championship for Women.

The Turks bounced back from a poor first half - by the end of which they were down 30-20 - scoring the first seven points of the third quarter and proved the far better team down the stretch as the nerves got the better of the hosts.