UPDATE: Friday's basketball games have been canceled due to bad weather.  Make-up date to be announced next week. 

SHERBROOKE, Que. – Big game wins. That is what the Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team has been doing this year. Fresh off a 2-0 record at their Christmas tournament, including a convincing 75-61 victory over the No. 10 Ryerson Rams, Bishop's returns to the site of their first stunner of the year and looks for another. The Gaiters will tip-off against the No. 5 Laval Rouge et Or on Friday at 6 p.m. at PEPS in Quebec City.
 
Last Time Out
Bishop's (2-3, 9-6) played a pair of non-conference games in late December in a tournament they hosted in Mitchell Gym.  They opened the event with a thrilling come from behind double overtime 97-93 victory over the UNB Varsity Reds and they backed it up with a dominant performance over the nationally ranked Rams.
 
Freshman Marie-Evradine Berrouette was named a tournament all-star while Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina/) and Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que./Collège Montmorency) picked up player of the game honours.
 
Laval (3-2, 13-4) played a pair of non-conference games against the No. 7 Windsor Lancers over the holidays. They showed the strength of the RSEQ winning both contests 71-65 and 84-76.
 
Toe to toe this Year
Bishop's and Laval have already played twice this season. Bishop's stunned the Rouge et Or in Quebec City, winning 75-71 while Laval topped the Gaiters in Mitchell Gym 57-52. 
 
Milhomme led the Gaiters in their victory with 22 points while Marchizotti chalked up a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds in Lennoxville.
 
Reigning RSEQ MVP Jane Gagne led the Rouge et Or in both match-ups. She scored 15 points and grabbed 13 boards in Quebec City and scored 16 in the last game before the Christmas exam period.
 
Statistically Speaking
Bishop's
Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que./Collège Montmorency) ranks 5^th in the RSEQ in scoring. She is averaging 13.4 points per game
Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina/) sits in 3^rd in the RSEQ with 8.6 rebounds per game
Floor general Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Santo Domingo de Guzmain) is first in the RSEQ and 3^rd in Canada with 5.2 assists per game
 
Laval
Jane Gagne and Sarah-Jane Marois are 9th and 10th in the RSEQ in scoring with 12.2 and 11.4 points per game respectively
Gagne is also 4^th in the RSEQ and Marois 10^th in rebounding with 8.4 and 6.6 boards per game
The versatile Gagne also leads the conference in steals per game with 2.6, while Genevieve Derome is 4^th with 1.8
 
Where we sit
At 3-2 Laval is tied for first place with McGill (3-1) and Concordia (3-1) the Montreal schools each have a game in hand.  Bishop's sits in fourth place at 2-3, just 2 points out of the first-place logjam and 4 points up on winless UQAM (0-4).
 
Coach's Corner
"We anticipate that the game at Laval will be a play-off type atmosphere and intensity," said Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball head coach Craig Norman. "This is our third meeting in a month and there are very few surprises left at this point. Winning individual battles and completing assigned tasks are of the utmost importance. We expect Laval to be ready and we expect their best. We wish to answer the bell and to compete at a high level. This is another test for us and they keep coming in this ultra-competitive conference.
 
"We learned a great deal from our tournament games. We played two top non-conference opponents in our home gym. In the first game, we battled back from a huge deficit versus UNB and won a close game in double overtime. This was a huge character builder, the girls stayed the course, and eventually they were rewarded with a thrilling victory. In our second game, the girls were sharp from the start and were focused on implementing a simple game plan. We played one of our better games of the year and defeated a top ten opponent in Ryerson University. It was great playing these type of games at home during the holidays as the teams only had to concentrate on preparation as opposed to all the logistics that go into travelling at that time of the year."
 
Next up
After Friday's contest in Quebec City, Bishop's will head to UQAM on Thursday, Jan. 11 to take on the Citadins at 6 p.m. The two squads' tip-off in the back end of a home and home on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. in Mitchell Gym.
 
Social Corner
Stay up-to-date with everything Bishop's Gaiters at www.gaiters.ca or on social media using @BishopsGaiters and #GaiterNation.
 
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