Olympics-Basketball-Serbia defeats France to win women's bronze

By Mary Milliken RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Serbia won the bronze with a hard-fought 70-63 victory over France on Saturday to claim its first Olympic medal in women's basketball. The 14th-ranked Serbian team roared back from a weak second quarter that left the game level 27-27 at halftime to get the upper hand on fourth-ranked France. The French were silver medallists in London 2012 and lost to the heavily favoured U.S. team on Thursday. Forward Jelena Milovanovic led the Serbian charge with 18 points. It was the Serbian women's first medal game since becoming an independent nation. Yugoslavia's women won silver in 1988. Later in the day, the United States will play for its sixth straight gold medal in the final against Spain, a country that has never medalled in women's basketball. The Serbian men's team will play for the gold medal in the final against the United States on Sunday, one of the last events of the 2016 Olympics. (Editing by Ed Osmond)