SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team closes out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Sunday, as they host the No. 2-ranked Carleton Ravens at the Mitchell Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be webcast at http://www.gaiters.ca/webcast.
 
The Gaiters (5-1 U Sports, 0-0 RSEQ) are enjoying their best start to a season since 2006, and won two straight tournaments to start the year, as they were a perfect 3-0 at the Helen Campbell Invitational in Fredericton, N.B., and 2-1 at the Marie's Mini Mart Fall Classic in St. John's, N.L.  The Gaiters' only loss this season was to the tournament hosts Memorial in St. John's.
 
So far, the Gaiters have averaged 70.2 points per game, while allowing only 56.7   Ashley Milhomme (13.7 points per game) and Edith Noblecilla (13.2) have led the Gaiters individually. Among the Gaiter rookies, Maeve Dinalle (Paris, France) has scored 11.2 points in her first six CIS games. Veteran centre Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina) leads the Gaiters on the boards as she has hovered up 8.8 rebounds per game.
 
The Carleton Ravens of the OUA come into the game as the No. 2 team in Canada, according to the initial U Sports rankings issued last week. They are 8-1 against U Sports opposition thus far this season. Like the Gaiters, their only loss was to a tournament host, Regina on Thanksgiving weekend. The Ravens swept their own tournament, the McKeen Metro Glebe tournament two weeks ago. Carleton took two from RSEQ teams over the past weeks, a 51-45 win at home against McGill on Oct. 29 and a 64-57 win at UQAM on Friday. Last year, the Ravens were 14-5 in OUA play, and fell to Windsor in the conference quarter-final.
 
Sunday's game will be a homecoming for one Raven, Waterville native Cynthia Dupont. Mitchell Gym is a familiar place for the second-year guard, as she played collegiate basketball with the Champlain Cougars.
 
After Sunday, the Gaiters head into conference play. They open league play on Thursday at Concordia, and return home on Saturday when they face the UQAM Citadins.