MONTREAL -- Two-time All-Canadian Mariam Sylla registered a "double-double" as No. 1 ranked McGill dominated the Bishop's Gaiters 70-36 in RSEQ women's basketball at Love Competition Hall on Saturday.

It improved McGill's win streak to a dozen games and was their 18th-straight victory over Bishop's, who remain winless on the season at 0-15.

Sylla, a fourth-year pharmacology student from Guinea, shot 5-for-9 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to tally 15 points. She also nabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. It was her seventh double-double in 18 games overall but her first in five games.

Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., led all scorers with 18 points. The 6-foot-4 centre shot 8-for-15 from the field, nailed both her free-throw attempts and grabbed seven rebounds. She also blocked a shot, had an assist and stole two balls.

McGill took the lead just over a minute in and never let go. They only led 17-13 after the first quarter but improved that to 36-17 at halftime and 50-22 after three.

"The girls brought a focussed approach, which enabled us to get everybody into the game," said Ryan Thorne, who collected his 200th career victory in 371 games over 13 seasons behind the McGill bench. "We were playing a team that's not as deep and not as strong as us but their still going to come out a fight, which they did in the first quarter. They scored early on because we weren't working the way we should and they took advantage of some good situations. With our depth, we started to dominate later on."

Third-year medical student Jennifer Silver of Montreal scored only four points but pulled down 11 rebounds, including seven in the offensive zone. She also shot 2-for-7 from the floor, registered a block and three assists. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante, a physical education freshman from St. Laurent, Que., scored eight points, shooting 2-for-9 from the floor, with both successful attempts coming from beyond the three-point arc. She sank both her free-throws, collected a pair of rebounds and had three assists.

Mara Marchizotti of Argentina led the Gaiters with nine points and six rebounds, while teammates Noemie Hamel-Petit of Magog, Que., and Charlene Pettigrew of Montreal also grabbed six rebounds apiece.

The Martlets shot 35.1 per cent from the field (26/74) and went 6-for-24 from three-point range. They succeeded on an impressive 12 of 13 free-throws for 92.3 per cent, and now rank second in the nation with a lofty 76.3 success rate. Bishop's shot only 25.5 per cent from the field (14-for-55), went 3-for-18 from beyond the arc and 5-for-8 from the line.

McGill had a 48-30 lead in rebounds, a 17-7 advantage in turnovers, a 7-3 difference in steals and a 2-0 edge in blocked shots. They are ranked second in the CIS with an average of 4.0 blocks per game.

Bishop's (0-15) closes out their dismal campaign at Laval (8-6) on Thursday, March 3.

The Martlets boast a 14-1 record and have already secured the conference's top seed, for the sixth straight season. They will honour their graduating seniors on Sat., March 5 (at 1 p.m.) when they close out the regular season against UQAM (8-5) before hosting the RSEQ Final Four championship, March 11-12.

MARTLET MURMURS: McGill is ranked first in the nation in defence, allowing just 51.0 points per game... Marika Guerin went down with a charley-horse injury with just under two minutes before halftime and did not return... Injured point-guard Dianna Ros sat out for the third straight contest.

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
Kirsten Whelan or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012