France beats Turkey 55-39 in women's Olympic opener

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Sarah Michel and Endy Miyem each scored 14 points, and France shook off a cold start Saturday before beating Turkey 55-39 in the opening game of the Olympic women's group play.

France, the 2012 silver medalist, lost starting point guard Celine Dumerc when she sprained her left ankle Wednesday in practice. She was replaced by Olivia Epoupa.

Michel hit 4-of-6 of her 3-pointers, while Miyem connected on 6-of-9 overall. Epoupa scored only four points replacing Dumarc, but she handed out five assists.

Nevriye Yilmaz led Turkey with 16 points, and Birsel Demirmen Vardarli had 10.

Not having Dumerc may have led to France's poor start. Turkey scored the first eight points and went up 16-6 before going cold in the second hitting only 1 of 12 attempts.

France led 22-19 at halftime and finished the game on a 20-4 run started in the final 84 seconds of the third quarter.