They are wrong. You inherited this account and became the one for whom the account was maintained immediately upon her death. The timing of the transfer to an IRA titled to you as beneficiary is irrelevant to determining RMDs.
They cannot force you to take any more than you are required to take, but being a beneficiary who is subject to the 10-year rule you might want to take out more than your RMD fro 2024 anyway.
