SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters will look to get back into the playoff race this week, as they face a key pair of games against the Concordia Stingers. The teams will meet on Thursday in the snug confines of the Concordia Gym, with the return match set for Saturday at the Mitchell Gym, starting at 6 p.m.
 
The Gaiters (6-9, 1-6 RSEQ) dropped two games to the UQAM Citadins last weekend. On Friday in Lennoxville, the visitors never trailed in a 66-58 win over Bishop's. A day later in Montreal, the Gaiters led through most of the game, but a late run by UQAM and a late free throws gave the Citadins a 52-51 victory.
 
Concordia (10-8, 3-5 RSEQ) come into this weekend after splitting their two games against McGill last weekend, with a 69-65 win at Concordia offset by a 90-62 victory two days later in downtown Montreal. The Stingers are in a virtual tie with McGill for third place in the conference, with both teams four games back of league-leading Laval, and two games up on the Gaiters.
 
The Gaiters and Stingers will be meeting for the second and third times this year. They first played each other in the regular-season opener on Nov. 10 in Montreal. In that game, the Gaiters twice came back from double-figure deficits to tie the game, but the Stingers eventually nipped Bishop's 59-55. In that game, four of the Gaiters' five starters hit double figures, with Maeva Dinalle (Paris, France)'s 15 points leading the charge.
 
Noblecilla, the Gaiters' fourth-year point guard, still sits second in Canada with 5.4 assists per game and is fifth in the country with 34.3 minutes per game. She is averaging 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina), meanwhile, is seventh on the provincial scoring list with 12.1 points per game, the only Gaiter to average in double figures so far. Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que. /Collège Montmorency) is scoring 9.0 ppg, while Maude Archambault (Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Que. /Collège Montmorency) has 7.3. Marchizotti is also the Gaiters' leading rebounder, with 6.9 boards per contest.
 
Concordia comes into the weekend with two of the conference's three leading scorers, as Richelle Gregoire is second in the league with 17.3 points per game, while Marilyse Roy-Viau's 13.8 ppg puts her in third spot. Overall, the Stingers are the league's third-rated offence, with 60.4 points per game. They also allow a league-high 66.9 points per game.
 
Both of this weekend's games will be webcast, with Thursday's contest available at portal.stretchinternet.com/cumo/ and Saturday's at www.gaiters.ca/webcast.