MONTREAL -- Co-captain Mariam Sylla, a native of Guinea, scored a game-high 16 points in her much-awaited return to the court as second-ranked McGill rallied from a poor first half and a seven-point deficit to defeat the UQAM Citadins 54-52 in a hard-fought RSEQ women's basketball contest at Love Competition Hall, Thursday.

It was the Martlets' first victory over UQAM since a 53-51 decision 11 months ago in the conference championship game. The pesky Citadins claimed a 55-48 home-court victory in their only previous matchup this season. McGill leads the all-time series between these city rivals with 34 victories in 55 confrontations.

Sylla, a pharmacology senior who has missed four games this month with a leg injury, came off the bench to play a team-high 28 minutes. She shot 8-for-15 from the floor but was an uncharacteristic 0-for-2 from the foul-line. The 6-foot-1 power forward pulled down four defensive rebounds, to go along with a pair of steals and an assist.

"You feel a little more confident when they're in the line-up; there's a lot of leadership there," said McGill head coach Ryan Thorne of Sylla and fellow co-captain Dianna Ros, who also made a return from injury.  "They were a bit rusty, just the timing and execution, but I'm glad to see them back."

Ros, normally the starting point-guard, came off the bench to play 21 minutes. She only attempted three shots and ended up with two points, one assist and a steal.

UQAM dominated the first half to lead 15-8 after one quarter and 23-17 at halftime. They maintained a 37-35 edge heading into the final stanza and held their final lead at 45-43 with with under six minutes remaining. but McGill outscored them 9-7 down an exciting stretch run, holding onto a 53-52 advantage with seven seconds remaining before Kiss-Rusk sealed the victory on a last-second free-throw.

The lead changed hands nine times in the game, seven of them in the second half.

"We changed some of the things we were doing offensively," explained Thorne of McGill's halftime adjustments. "We tried to get a match-up that was favourable to us, and we did that for the most part down the stretch."

Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., scored 15 points -- including the final three to secure the win -- and collected seven rebounds. She shot 6-for-15 from the floor, sank three of four free-throw attempts and blocked a pair of shots.

Gladys Hakizimana, a social work freshman from Montreal, collected 10 points, three rebounds and four assists. She was 3-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 from three-point range, and netted both her free-throw attempts.

"She has a good basketball IQ," noted Thorne of his promising rookie. "She knows how to play and how to win. But I think what's (slowly) coming along is her adjustment to the university game. Once she gets that, I think she'll be hard to stop."

Rounding out the scoring for McGill was Jennifer Silver (6), Geraldine Cabillo-Abante (3) and Marika Guerin (2).

Third-year centre Jessica Lubin of Montreal led the Citadins with a dozen points and eight rebounds, while teammate Sarah Cabana of St. Hubert, Que., added 11 points and pulled down two off the glass. UQAM starter Janice Quintos, who had four points and three rebounds, was the only player to foul out.

There wasn't much to choose from between the teams in the stats department.

McGill had a 27-25 lead in rebounds, while the Citadins held a 23-18 advantage in turnovers, a 9-8 difference in steals and a 3-2 edge in blocked shots.

The Martlets shot 42.3 per cent from the field (22/52) and netted two of their eight chances from the three-point arc. They sank only 8 of 13 free-throws, with all eight baskets coming in the second half. UQAM shot 38.2 per cent (21-for-55), went a meagre 1-for-10 from beyond the arc and 9-for-13 from the line.

The division-leading Martlets improved to 10-1 and lead second-place Laval (8-4) by four points. Third-place UQAM sits six points back of McGill with a 7-4 record, one victory behind the Rouge et Or with a game in hand. The cross-town teams will tip-off again on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. at the Centre Sportif UQAM.


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