George Mason Starters
Walton, Harris, Brown, Volker, Komara

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

How it Happened
Brooklyn Gray matched her career high with 30 points while leading Rhode Island to a 79-63 win at George Mason Saturday.

In a matchup between the top two teams in the Atlantic 10 entering the weekend, Rhode Island (23-2, 14-0 Atlantic 10) made an emphatic statement. The Rams scored 46 points in the paint and shot 56.6 percent from the field while overpowering George Mason.

The game was close early until Rhode Island used a big second-quarter run to take control. After a Kennedy Harris 3-pointer pulled the host Patriots (16-8, 11-2 A-10) within 20-19, URI took over. A 9-0 run featured five points from Brooklyn Gray in a three-minute span, pushing Rhody to a 29-19 lead. By the end of the half, Rhode Island had an 11-point lead (36-25).

George Mason made a push early in the second half. Harris was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and sank all three free throws. Former URI forward Hawa Komara hit a jumper to cut the Rhody lead to 42-37 with six minutes left in the half.

From there, Rhode Island ended the third with a 14-6 run that took the wind out of George Mason's sails. Gray got the run started with a turnaround jumper before Sophia Vital hit back-to-back driving layups just 30 seconds apart. A hoop-and-harm three-point play by Gray and two free throws by Vital capped the run, which put URI up by as many as 15 points.

Rhody flexed its muscle, never letting up over the final 10 minutes. The Rams got ahead by 19 points after a Gray layup made the score 74-55 with 3:46 to go. The Rams cruised from there with their 11th road win well in hand.

Inside the Box Score

• Brooklyn Gray scored 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field.
• She was perfect at the free throw line, going 10-for-10 at the stripe.
• She added a team-high nine rebounds and three assists.
• Sophia Vital did Sophia Vital things, scoring 11 points, grabbing six rebounds, getting three steals and dishing out three assists.
• Vanessa Harris had 11 points and three rebounds.
• Rhode Island extended its program-record win streak to 17 games.
• With four games remaining in the regular season, Rhode Island leads Richmond by one game at the top of the Atlantic 10 standings.
• URI has already clinched a double bye for the conference championship.
• Rhode Island never trailed in the game.
• Former Ram Hawa Komara had 13 points and 16 rebounds for George Mason.

Up Next
Rhode Island stays on the road for a visit to La Salle on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Game time is 6:30 p.m. on both ESPN+ and the Varsity Network.