SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team enters 2017-18 looking to reap the rewards of their 18-month long rebuilding process. After winning as many games in 2016-17 as they had in the previous four seasons combined, the Gaiters look to take the next step and return to the postseason this year.
 
Craig Norman's squad posted a 5-3 non-conference record so far this season, highlighted by a 2-1 mark at the Dalhousie Centennial Tournament in mid-October.
 
The Gaiters return eight players from last season, including Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Santo Domingo de Guzmain), last year's Bishop's female athlete of the year, as well as Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que./Collège Montmorency), the 2016 winner and fifth-year centre Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina/).
 
In non-conference play, the Gaiters went 4-1 against OUA teams, with the only blemish being a loss at No. 4-ranked Carleton and split two games against Atlantic opposition. They have averaged 70.1 points per game, while holding opponents to 60.75 points this year.
 
The Gaiters projected starting line-up includes four veterans, most notably Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Santo Domingo de Guzmain), and Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que./Collège Montmorency), who between them have won the three most recent Bishop's female athletes of the year awards, along with fifth-year centre Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina/) and third-year guard Noemie Hamel-Petit.

Noblecilla, a fifth-year point guard, has 8.3 points in non-conference play this year, and is averaging 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest. The Ecuadorian was named to the league second all-star team last year, the second all-star nod of her career and was named the Gaiters' female athlete of the year last year, after also winning the award in 2015.
 
Milhomme, the 2016 Bishop's female athlete of the year, has had a strong preseason with 16.0 points per game while playing an average of 26.8 minutes. She has also averaged 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

Marchizotti who spent the summer with the Argentinian national team at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2017, where she helped Team Argentina qualify for next year's FIBA Women's World Cup in Spain, has seen limited action this fall. Last year, she averaged 11.5 points per game, good for ninth in the conference, and was fifth in the loop with 7.7 rebounds.
 
Hamel-Petit has averaged 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds this year and has hit double figures on three occasions. The fourth-year guard continues to be an outside threat, hitting 33 per cent of her three-point attempts.
 
The rookie presence in the Gaiters' starting five is Marie-Evrardine Berrouette (Montreal, Que./Dawson College), who comes to the Gaiters from the Dawson Blues. In non-conference play this year, she has averaged 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while playing a team-high 30.8 minutes per game. With Dawson last year, she averaged 6.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.

The Gaiters have an experienced backcourt, with veterans Maude Archambault (Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Que./Collège Montmorency), Metchline Gabelus (Montreal, Que./Champlain-St. Lambert) and Maeva Dinalle (Paris, France/), joined by newcomers Layla Mahoubi (Quebec, Que./College Merici) and Jessica Dodig (Bolton, Ont./).
 
Archambault has come off the bench to lead the Gaiters in scoring so far this year, with 17.0 points per game. She has hit double figures in every game so far this year, with her top performance being a 26-point outburst at Dalhousie on Oct. 15.
 
Sophomore guard Maeva Dinalle (Paris, France/) will also see serious minutes this season. The Parisian averaged 6.6 points and 3.5 rebounds as she made nine starts.
 
Fellow sophomore Gabelus is coming a season that saw her named to the RSEQ All-Rookie team. In non-conference play this year, she has averaged 4.2 points and 2.8 assists per game.
 
Layla Mahoubi (Quebec, Que./College Merici) comes to the Gaiters from College Merici, where she averaged 4.3 points per game in 11 contests as the Panthères went 5-9 in Division II last season. Jessica Dodig (Bolton, Ont./) will hit the hardwood for the conference schedule, after spending the fall with the Gaiters women's soccer team.
 
Up front, the Gaiters bench has been bolstered by a combination of returning veterans and newcomers.
 
Rookie Eve-Marie Houle (Quebec, Que./Ste-Foy College) has made three starts so far this year, and has average 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds while averaging 20.2 minutes per game. Last year, she played 13 games for the CEGEP de Ste-Foy Dynamiques, averaging 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
 
Jenae Grayer (Windsor, Ont./), a 5-8 forward has returned to the Gaiters after a two-year absence. The Windsor, Ont. native and former Champlain Cougar has started three games this year, and averaged 1.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.4 minutes.
 
The Gaiters' bench depth comes in the form of sophomore Eva Kuhar (Kemptville, Ont./St. Michael C.H.S.) and rookie Sara Bazinet (Otterburn Park, Que.). Kuhar played 11 games last year, while Bazinet comes to the Gaiters from the CEGEP de St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where she won a Division 2 provincial gold medal last year.
The Gaiters' 16-game RSEQ schedule starts on Saturday when they host the UQAM Citadins at the Mitchell Gym. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
Bishop's will play all four league opponents once before Christmas, and, after hosting a Christmas tournament, starts the winter portion of the schedule on Jan. 5, 2017. If they are successful in getting to the playoffs for the first time since 2012, the RSEQ Final 4 is set for March 1-3 in Montreal, with the USports championship following a week later in Regina.