Lauren Jackson scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and Australia rallied past Russia 75-55 Sunday to clinch the top seed in its pool.

With the victory, Australia (5-0) avoids having to play the US until a possible showdown in the championship game.

"We all knew how big this game was," Jackson said. "Just to be able to get the top seed and not have to face the Americans till the gold-medal game is huge."

After a first half in which nothing went right and they trailed 37-25, the Aussies took control. They scored the first nine points of the third quarter, including five straight by Suzy Batkovic to close the gap.

"We weren’t concerned at the half," said Jackson, who also grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots. After two free throws by Russia, Jackson scored seven of the next 10 points for Australia. The reigning WNBA MVP’s 3-pointer with 4:21 left gave Australia a 44-41 advantage – its first since early in the first quarter. By the quarter’s end Australia led 55-47, The Aussies outscored Russia 30-10 in the period.

In other games yesterday, South Korea (2-3) held off Latvia (1-4) behind Park Jung Eun’s 17 points. She hit five 3-pointers as South Korea advanced to play the US in the quarter-finals. Anete Jekabsone scored 22 points to lead Latvia. Spain (3-2) routed winless Mali 79-47 behind Amaya Valdemoro’s 21 points. Djenebou Sissoko led Mali (0-5) with 17 points.