SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team enters the RSEQ portion of the 2016-17 with an optimism not seen with the program in the better part of a decade. Under new head coach Craig Norman, the Gaiters put together a 5-2 record in non-conference play, their best record since 2006. The Gaiters come into the season sitting in the top 20 nationwide in all three ranking systems published on cishoops.ca.
 
Norman, who took over head coaching duties in January 2016 on an interim basis, was named to the full-time post in August, and has led the Gaiters to tournament wins at the Helen Campbell Invitational in Fredericton, N.B. and the Marie's Mini Mart Fall Classic in St. John's, N.L. The only blemishes on the Gaiters' record were a road to Memorial University of Newfoundland and last Sunday's loss to No. 2-ranked Carleton.
 
In the preseason, the Gaiters have scored 68 points per game, a marked improvement from the 46 they averaged during the last regular season. The Gaiters have held their opponents to 58 points per game, down from the 69 they allowed in 2015-16.
 
The Gaiters starting line-up includes four veterans, most notably Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador) and Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que.), the two most recent Bishop's female athletes of the year, along with fourth-year centre Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and third-year guard Noemie Hamel-Petit (Magog, Que.).
 
Noblecilla, a fourth-year point guard, has 12.6 points per game this year, and is averaging 6.2 points per game. The Ecuadorian will be looking to make a return to the conference all-star team, where she earned second-team honours in 2015, after an injury-shortened 2015-16.
 
Milhomme, the 2016 Bishop's female athlete of the year, leads the Gaiters with 12.7 points this season, after averaging 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds and being named to the RSEQ All-Rookie Team last year
 
Marchizotti is leading the Gaiters in rebounds thus far with 8.4 per game and has averaged 8.9 points per game. She already has two double-doubles this season, most notably a 14-point, 15-rebound performance against Lakehead on Oct. 2.
 
Hamel-Petit has averaged 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds this year and has hit double figures on three occasions. The third-year guard has been an outside threat, hitting 33 per cent of her three-point attempts. The former Champlain Cougar led the Gaiters with 6.1 rebounds per game last season.
 
The one rookie to crack the starting five is Maeva Dinalle, who hails from Paris, France. The 5-6 guard has started all seven non-conference games, averaging 10.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. The Business major spent last season with Stade Laurentin Basket in Division 2 of the French national women's amateur league.
 
The Gaiters' backcourt is a young group, with veterans Catherine Guay and Maude Archambault joined by rookies Metchline Gabelus, Eliane Potvin and Tania Garcia.
 
Archambault, who is from St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, near Quebec City, has averaged 7.9 points and 2.9 rebounds thus far this season. The Montmorency alumna will be looking to return to the form that helped her lead the Nomades to a CCAA national championship in 2015 and saw her named the MVP of the RSEQ Division I championship.
 
Guay, who is also from St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, has seen limited time thus far, averaging 4.2 minutes over six games this year. Last year, she played 11 games, averaging 1.8 points per game.
 
Gabelus (Montreal, Que.), a 5-7 guard, has played in seven games so far, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The former Champlain St-Lambert Cavalier was third in CEGEP Division 1 last season with 3.2 assists per game, and tied for 15^th with 2.1 steals per game.
 
Potvin (Jonquiere, Que.) has also seen action in all seven games. The 5-7 CEGEP de Jonquière alum has played 3.6 minutes per game so far, scoring five points. Last year, she averaged 18 points per game, good for fourth overall in her division.
 
Garcia (Shawinigan-Sud, Que.) has seen limited action this year, scoring two points and grabbing three rebounds in 12 minutes. The Collège Nouvelles-Frontières grad was tied for 15^th in CEGEP Division 1 last season with 2.1 steals per game, and 13^th with a 69.3 free-throw percentage.
 
Up front, the first off the bench for the Gaiters is Charlene Pettigrew (Montreal). The 6-2 centre is averaging 3.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. Last year, she was named to the RSEQ All-Rookie team after averaging 5.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
 
Bishop's boasts one rookie in the frontcourt, Eva Kuhar of Kemptville, Ont. The 6-0 forward has played in five games so far this year. She split last season between St. Michael Catholic High School in Kemptville and the Ottawa Nationals juvenile elite team.
 
The Gaiters' 16-game RSEQ schedule, starts on Thursday when they visit the Concordia Stingers in Montreal. The Gaiters' first home game is Saturday, when they host UQAM. Both games tip off at 6 p.m. Bishop's will play all four league opponents once before Christmas, and starts the winter portion of the schedule on Jan. 13, 2017. If they are successful in getting to the playoffs for the first time since 2012, the RSEQ Final 4 is set for March 2-3 in Montreal, with the U Sports championship following a week later in Victoria, B.C.