MONTREAL – Mariam Sylla scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the No.2-ranked McGill women's basketball team rallied for a hard-fought 54-51 road win over UQAM at their Centre Sportif, Saturday.

The third-place Citadins (7-5), which had a chance to shake up the RSEQ standings and join the division-leading Martlets (11-1) at the top this weekend with a back-to-back set against McGill, lost both by a combined total of five points and now find themselves eight points back in the standings with four contests remaining before playoffs.
 
The deciding factor in the game was McGill sinking 13 of 16 attempts from the free-throw line (81.3%), compared to the Citadins, who only shot 6-for-10.

Sylla, a 6-foot-1 forward from Guinea, shot 5-for-9 from the floor and was a stellar 9-for-10 from the line, including a pair of freebies in the last few seconds. The 21-year-old pharmacology senior was also credited with a pair of assists, one steal and a blocked shot.
 
"She was clutch for us, played well under the boards, attacked well and came up big," said McGill head coach Ryan Thorne. "We had a slow start and weren't attacking, we were just trying to move the ball. Once we started to attack, we got some opportunities at the foul-line and shot well from there."

Freshman Gladys Hakizimana was the only other Martlet to reach double-digits. The Montreal native came off the bench to score 13 points along with five rebounds, three assists and one steal. She went 2-for-2 from the line, draining two key free-throws in the dying seconds to preserve the victory.

"One thing that didn't show up on the stats was the play of Jennifer Silver," noted Thorne of his 5-foot-11 junior who came off the bench to play 25 minutes, collect four points, three rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. "She just came in and did all of the little things needed to win. She went to the glass, got us rebounds, defended well and picked up loose balls. That stuff doesn't show up on the scoresheet but she did a great job out there."

Queteline Celestin led the way for the Citadins with 18 points. She added four assists, three rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks. Jessica Lubin also reached double figures, putting up 11 points while pulling down six rebounds and snagging two steals.

UQAM came out of the gate strong, grabbing an early 10-point lead and holding a 17-11 edge after the opening quarter. The Martlets managed to cut the deficit to 28-24 by halftime. A hard-fought third frame resulted in both teams scoring 14 points. McGill then dominated when it mattered most, outscoring the Citadins 16-9 in the final stanza. UQAM had a chance to take the lead with 16 seconds remaining but a Celestin jump shot came up short.

"We were trying out some new things today... we went with a zone defence," said Thorne. "Some good things happened and some not-so-good. But it was more a case of us wanting to see where things were at with our zone."
 
The game featured a plethora of turnovers as both teams combined for 42. McGill committed 25 miscues, nine of which were UQAM steals. The Citadins on the other hand coughed up 17 turnovers, including eight stolen balls by the Martlets.
 
McGill shot 37 per cent from the field (20/54) and went 1-for-13 from three-point range. UQAM connected on 30 per cent from the floor (21/70) and went 3-for-12 from beyond the arc.
 
The Martlets have a six-day break before travelling across town to battle fourth-place Concordia (4-8) next Saturday (Feb.13) at 2 p.m. UQAM will try to get back in the win column on Friday (Feb.12) when they travel to Lennoxville to take on last-place Bishop's  (0-11).
 
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT:
Ryne Bondy or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012