Lotos Gdynia sprung a big upset by knocking off defending champions Spartak Moscow Region but the Polish team is remaining grounded with another tough EuroLeague Women test waiting Thursday at home against USVO.

Roman Skrzecz's team survived a 7-0 Spartak run over the final four minutes to capture a 67-66 victory over the mighty Russians and move to 1-1 in Group C.

"The team really stepped up. You can't think about them being the defending champions or that they should blow us out. We knew they would make a run at the end and they did. But the way we held them off tells us a lot about our team," said Lotos guard Dominique Canty, who had 10 points, three assists and five steals in the victory.

The young Polish team last week led the 2006 champions Gambrinus Brno by three points with seven minutes left before watching the Czechs run away with a 13-point win.

Despite admitting it was an important victory, Canty also said the team cannot let the win over Spartak go to their heads.

"It's only one game. We have to continue to work hard. If in January we're still winning games the win could be something really big because we're in one of the toughest groups," she said.

Looking ahead to their home showdown on Thursday against the 2002 and 2004 title-holders USVO, Canty once again reiterated that it all comes down to hard work.

"I'm not going to say we're going to win the game. If we have the same focus, it's a probability that we will win the game," she added.

A victory would also give Lotos a 2-1 record after games against three teams who have collected four of the last six EuroLeague titles since 2002.

"It would be great," Canty said.

"Regardless of who we play, we have to stay focused and play hard. We might not have the most talent, but sometimes working hard overcomes talent."