SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team will kick off 2017 with a bang, as they have a home-and-home series against the No. 2-ranked, and league-leading, Laval Rouge et Or. The teams will square off on Friday at the PEPS in Quebec City, before returning to the Mitchell Gym on Saturday. Both games tip off at 6 p.m.
 
For the Gaiters (6-5, 1-3 RSEQ), this weekend is their first game action in seven weeks, after the annual break for exams and the Christmas holidays along with a bye last week to open the winter. The Gaiters won their last game, a 62-40 decision over the McGill Martlets on Nov. 26.
 
Laval (15-2, 5-1 RSEQ) is also coming off a matchup with the Martlets. The Rouge et Or split with McGill, falling 50-42 in Montreal on Jan. 4 before rebounding for a 70-40 win in Quebec City two days later. The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for Laval, who had risen to the No. 1 ranking in the country.
 
Bishop's is currently three games behind Laval in the RSEQ standings, and in a virtual tie with McGill and Concordia (both 2-4 in league play) for third in the five-team Quebec conference.
 
In their first meeting of the year, the Gaiters dropped a 72-56 decision to the then-No. 4-ranked Rouge et Or in Quebec City on Nov. 18. Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina) led the Gaiters with 18 points, but was held to only four rebounds. The Gaiters led 19-16 after the first quarter, and trailed 38-36 at halftime before a slow third quarter allowed the undefeated Rouge et Or to pull away.
 
Gaiters veteran point guard Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Santo Domingo de Guzmain) continues to lead the country with 7.0 assists per game this season, and is second in Canada with 35.5 minutes per game. She is 10^th in the province with 10.5 point per game, and fifth in the league with 6.8 rebounds per game.
 
The other half of the Gaiters' Latin connection, Marchizotti, is third in Quebec in scoring with 15.8 points per game and eighth in the circuit with 6.0 rebounds per game. She is also the most accurate shooter in the conference, with a 0.519 field goal percentage. Maëva Dinalle leads the Gaiter rookies with 9.5 points per game, and Maude Archambault (Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Que. /Collège Montmorency) (8.0 ppg) and Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que. /Collège Montmorency) (7.5 ppg) have also worked their way into the league's top scoring list.
 
Laval, meanwhile, comes into the game with the league's top-rated offence and defence, scoring 65.7 points per game, while allowing only 53.3. They have a balanced attack, with four players averaging in double figures so far this season (Gabrielle Girard – 13.3 ppg, Sarah-Jane Marois – 12.3 ppg, Raphaëlle Côté – 11.2 ppg and Jane Gagné – 10.3 ppg). Côté leads the Rouge et Or on the boards, with 7.2 rebounds per game.
 
Both of this weekend's games will be webcast, with Friday's game available (in French) on www.youtube.com/rougeetor and Saturday's being aired on www.gaiters.ca/webcast.