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

Duquesne Starters 
Blackford, Bordas, Grantham-Medl, Green, Washington

How it Happened

Rhode Island overcame a slow offensive start and beat Duquesne 70-50 on Sunday afternoon at the Ryan Center. The Rams (16-2, 7-0 Atlantic 10) were led by sophomore Albina Syla. Syla finished the game with her third double-double of the season, including a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. 

Duquesne (7-11, 0-7 Atlantic 10) led by as many as six points in the second quarter. After a Mackenzie Blackford layup with 6:03 left in the first half, the Dukes took a 21-15 advantage. From there, Rhode Island closed the half on an 11-2 run that was capped off by a Syla layup to give the Rams a three-point lead heading into halftime. 

Rhode Island commanded the second half. The Rams scored the first seven points of the third quarter, including a 3-pointer from Palmire Mbu and back-to-back buckets from Syla to open up a 10-point lead just over a minute into the second half. 

The Rams offensive surge lasted the remainder of the game, as Rhody scored 44 second-half points. Ines Debroise scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Syla made a pair of free throws with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter to give Rhode Island a 22-point lead, its largest of the day.

Inside the Box Score

• The Rams finished the game with seven blocks, matching their season high.
• Rhode Island snagged 11 steals, the team's second-highest total of the season.
• Rhode Island had just eight turnovers. That is the sixth time this season that the Rams had single digit turnovers.
• URI scored 20 points off turnovers compared to just three for Duquesne's.
• To go along with her career high in 23 points and 11 rebounds, Albina Syla added three blocks and one steal.
• Sophia Vital grabbed a career-high seven steals and contributed five points, six assists, and four rebounds.
• Ines Debroise moved to the third all-time assist total in Rhode Island history with three assists on the day. She is tied with Safi Mojidi (2004-08) with 354 in her career. 
• Anne Kelsen (1989-93) is second in program history with 370 assists.
• Debroise added 13 points, one rebound, and one steal.
• Palmire Mbu contributed seven points, six rebounds, and three blocks.
• Brooklyn Gray tacked on six points, eight rebounds, five assists, one block, and two steals.
• Vanessa Harris added on eight points, two rebounds, and one assist.

Up Next
Rhode Island hosts Davidson on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at The Ryan Center. Game time is 6 p.m. and available on ESPN+ and the Varsity Network.