PARIS (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Defending world champions USA have made further cuts to their candidates' list after suffering a rare defeat ahead of the FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey.

Geno Auriemma and his team were guilty of allowing a commanding 18-point lead to slide against hosts France in a preparation tournament as they eventually went down 76-72 in Paris.

There is now only one more decision to make for the selection after Brittney Griner was given the all-clear by medical staff to link up with the team, with Stefanie Dolson, Kayla McBride and Skylar Diggins all heading in the opposite direction after being released.

"We've been trying to put everything together while using 15 players and that's not ideal," said Auriemma after the loss to France.

"We haven't been able to put enough time into one unit and get some kind of rotation down, and that's all right.

"We've been trying to give everybody a fair chance to make the team and show what they can do.

"But we are down to 12 for the game in Prague (against the Czech Republic) and that will tell us a lot more about what this team is.

"Then obviously we'll have a couple of practices when we get to Istanbul that will be big as well. Slowly but surely we're getting to where the team is, but it's not been easy.

"This is not an easy selection process. It's not easy on the committee, I'm sure. It's not easy on the coaches to work with that. The players that are not going to be with us in Prague are all young.

"They're young pros with not a lot of international experience and they're all playing positions that are difficult to crack into the line-up.

"There was no case of not being good enough or not being able to be on the team. It's just a matter of the experience factor for a lot of them, what fits best on this particular team with this particular group of players.

"It's all been exactly what we wanted them to do and how we wanted them to do it. Every one of those players that weren't chosen will be a huge part of USA Basketball going forward.

"It's just like so many before them, this is not the right time."

Sandrine Gruda of the Los Angeles Sparks torched the USA with some spectacular work inside for Les Bleues, which ultimately harvested a majestic 26 points and 15 rebounds.

"We got into a little bit of a lull and France and Sandrine (Gruda) especially, just made shots. They deserved to win - no question about that," added Auriemma.

"We talked to the players about how difficult all this is going to be. Sometimes maybe we think this is going to be easy, but it's not going to be easy.

"It's not easy to beat a really good team on their home floor if you don't shoot the ball well and if you don't make shots."

The USA will face Angola, China and Mozambique in Istanbul, with China underlining their danger by claiming an impressive success against Australia to sign off their participation at the event in Paris.

FIBA