No. 1 Rhode Island Starters
Mbu, Syla, Vital, Gray, Debroise

No. 8 Loyola Chicago Starters
Grandberry, Mercille, Hendrix, Chivers, Mobley

How it Happened
Top-seeded Rhode Island wore down No. 8 Loyola Chicago, methodically using scoring runs to steadily take control and win the game, 71-64. The Rams (26-4) turned what was a tight game midway through the second quarter into  a relatively comfortable victory.

URI used a late second-quarter surge followed by another run early in the third quarter sparked top-seeded Rhode Island past No. 8 Loyola Chicago in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship Friday. Rhode Island began the game with a 10-2 run, as Brooklyn Gray scored eight points early. She hit her first three field goal attempts - including a pair of early 3-pointers - during the run. Gray was already in double digits for points by the end of the first quarter, helping spark URI to a 16-10 lead after one period.

Loyola Chicago (14-17) scored the first seven points of the second quarter to take a 17-16 lead. Ines Debroise got Rhody on the board four minutes into the period when she made two free throws to give URI the lead right back. Vanessa Harris gave the Rams their first field goal of the quarter just under the 4:00 mark, tying the game at 20-20. Loyola Chicago led 22-20 following a second-chance layup by Alexus Mobley, but URI ended the half on a 9-2 run to take a 29-24 lead into halftime. Gray scored four points during the late run, while Palmire Mbu added three of her own.

Albina Syla softened up the middle on offense for the Rams, converting an old-fashioned three-point play and adding a second-chance layup in the first two minutes of the third quarter. That was part of a 9-2 spurt early in the third that extended the Rhody advantage to 38-29.  Vanessa Harris eventually pushed the lead to double digits for the first time when she sandwiched a layup and 3-pointer around a pair of Loyola Chicago free throws by Kira Chivers. The Harris 3-pointer made it 47-35 in URI's favor. She later hit another 3-pointer that gave URI its biggest lead of the day, 51-37, with 2:16 left in the third.

The Rams maintained a double-digit lead until a last push by Loyola Chicago made things interesting down the stretch. Rhody began the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run that pushed its lead to 16 at 58-42. The Ramblers did not go away, cutting the lead to seven points at 60-53 with an Alexa Kinus 3-pointer. Two free throws by Kendall Hendrix closed the gap to 60-55 with 3:24 left. Rhody did not fold. Brooklyn Gray hit two free throws of her own to get the Ram advantage back to 62-55 with three minutes left.

Alexus Mobley made a hoop-and-harm three-point play for the Ramblers to make it a two-possession game, 62-58. However, Sophia Vital drove the lane for a layup and a free throw, pushing the lead back to seven points for Rhode Island. A Mobley jump shot made it 65-60 with 95 seconds to go. Again, Rhody responded, as Vital found Palmire Mbu for a layup. Brooklyn Vaughn came right back with a layup to make it 67-62 with 26 seconds remaining.

Despite the last-ditch push by Loyola Chicago, Rhode Island was able to keep the Ramblers at bay. Mbu hit two free throws with 24 seconds to go. Mobley matched those with two of her own to again make it a five-point contest. Eventually, Ines Debroise iced the game with two free throws with nine seconds to go. Time ran out and Rhody moved on to the semifinals.

• Inside the Box Score
• With the win, Rhode Island matched the program record with 26 victories in a single season. The mark was initially set in 2022-23, when the Rams went 26-7 under head coach Tammi Reiss.
• Rhode Island has won at least one game at the Atlantic 10 Championship each of the last three years, going 6-3 in that span.
• The Rams had five players score in double digits. Brooklyn Gray led the way with 16 points, followed by Palmire Mbu (14), Albina Syla (13), Vanessa Harris (12) and and Ines Debroise (11).
• Gray was highly efficient on offense, shooting 4-for-8 overall, 3-for-4 from the perimeter and 5-for-5 at the free throw line
• Syla, Mbu, Gray and Sophia Vital each grabbed six rebounds.
• Vital had six of Rhode Island's nine assists.
• Rhode Island was excellent at the free throw line, hitting 20-of-24 from the stripe.

Up Next
Rhode Island will play the winner of No. 4 Davidson against No. 5 Saint Joseph's at 11 a.m. Saturday morning in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals. Davidson and Saint Joseph's played each other at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The semifinal game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network and will stream on audio via the Varsity Network.