Rhode Island Starters
Habib, Mbu, Syla, Gray, Vital

Holy Cross Starters
Cahalan, Flanagan, Foreman, Eddy, Donnelly

How it Happened
Freshman Vanessa Harris had a breakout game as Rhode Island used its size to wear down Holy Cross, knocking off the visiting Crusaders 73-59 Wednesday night.

With Harris scoring a career-high 19 points to lead a balanced attack, the Rams (5-1) cruised down the stretch after building a big lead.

A back-and-forth opening period featured four ties and three lead changes, as the teams were never separated by more than four points. Holy Cross (2-3) got a 3-pointer from Kendall Eddy at the buzzer of the first quarter to take a slight 15-14 edge into the second period.   

Rhode Island's defense asserted itself in the second quarter, holding the Crusaders to 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) from the floor. A 12-2 run that featured driving layups from Palmire Mbu and Ta'Viyanna Habib as well as a jumper from Albina Syla helped Rhody establish a 31-23 by halftime.

URI put the game away with a dominant third quarter. Vanessa Harris had a personal 6-0 run midway through the third quarter that stretched Rhody's lead to 14 points. She converted a hoop-and-harm drive to the basket then drained URI's first 3-pointer on the team's next possession, making the score 41-27. The lead swelled to as many as 21 following an Albina Syla layup. Holy Cross scored the final five points of the period, but Rhody took a 16-point advantage into the final stanza that was never truly threatened.

The Crusaders managed to trim the Rhody lead to 12 points with just under three minutes to go, but URI never relinquished control of the outcome.

Inside the Box Score

• This was the fifth time in six games Rhode Island held its opponent to less than 60 points. Only Rutgers (68) has reached 60 points against the Rams.
• Rhode Island improved to 4-0 at home. The Rams are 10-1 in their last 11 games in the Ryan Center.
• URI outscored the Crusaders 42-32 in the paint.
• After Holy Cross got six of the first eight rebounds in the game, Rhody outrebounded the Crusaders 36-26 the rest of the way.Vanessa Harris scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
• Brooklyn Gray had 12 points and three assists.
• Ines Debroise had 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
• Albina Syla had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with a career-high 11 rebounds.
• Palmire Mbu finished with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
• Rhody's bench scored 33 points.

Up Next
Rhode Island travels to N.C. State on Sunday, Nov. 23. The game tips at 2 p.m. on the ACC Network.