Abby Bishop had a stand-out game, top-scoring for the Aussies with 25 points to go with nine rebounds. Elyse Penaluna and Katie-Rae Ebzery both finished with 11 points each.
For the Czech side, Romana Hejdova had 19 points and 11 boards, while Kamila Stepanova finished with 15 points.
After a strong first half by the Aussies, who extended their eight point quarter time lead out to 18 at the half, they appeared to have the game well and truly in control.
But a third quarter fight-back by the Czech Republic saw them edge to within eight points with one quarter to play.
But this Australian group is deep with talent, and they rallied when it counted, blowing the lead back out to 17 as the final buzzer sounded.
Despite the comfortable winning margin, Aussie head coach Phil Brown was quick to demonstrate how tough this game was.
"The final score did not reflect the competitiveness and physicality of the challenge the Czechs presented,” he said.
”It took outstanding persistence by Australia to maintain a lead in the third quarter, and some excellent adjustments to the physical approach of the Czech Republic team.
“There were good contributions from a number of players at both ends of the floor," he said.
The Australian women’s team will enjoy the day off from competition tomorrow — although they will hit the practice courts — before coming up against a strong Canadian contingent in the quarter finals on Thursday.
Australia 85 (Bishop 25, Penaluna 11, Ebzery 11) def Czech Republic 68 (Hejdova 19, Stepanova 15)
