SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team heads up to Quebec City to take on the No. 4-ranked Laval Rouge et Or on Friday night. Tipoff at the PEPS is set for 6 p.m.
 
The Gaiters (5-4, 0-2 RSEQ) come into the game off a pair of close losses in the first weekend of league play. Bishop's opened the conference season with a 59-55 loss at Concordia, and suffered a 64-63 home loss to UQAM on Saturday.
 
The Gaiters' South American connection has led the squad through their first two games, with Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina) (Buenos Aires, Argentina) averaging 15.5 points per game, good for third in the conference, and Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Santo Domingo de Guzmain) (Guyaquil, Ecuador) scoring 12.5. Noblecilla, for her part, is the leading playmaker in Canada, with an average of 7.5 assists per game.
 
Rookie forward Maëva Dinalle (Paris, France) is the only other Gaiter averaging in double figures, with 10.5 points per game.
 
The Gaiters' opponent, the No. 4-ranked Laval Rouge et Or, come into the game with a 9-1 record vs. U Sport teams, and a perfect 2-0 mark in league play. They have won eight straight games overall, after sweeping through both the Tindall Invitational in Kingston and their own tournaments. They defeated then-No. 5 McGill 63-46 on Thursday to open league play, and eased past Concordia 71-60 on Saturday. Laval has a balanced attack with three players averaging in double figures (Jane Gagné – 12.5 ppg; Gabrielle Girard – 11.5 ppg; Sarah-Jane Marois – 11.0 ppg).
 
Friday's game is the first of four matchups this season between the two squads. After Friday, the Gaiters are off until Saturday, Nov. 26, when they host the McGill Martlets at the Mitchell Gym.