SHERBROOKE, Que. – After a less than stellar start from both the Laval Rouge et Or and Bishop's Gaiters, Jane Gagne put the visitors on her back and led U SPORTS top-ranked women's basketball team to a 63-39 victory over the Gaiters in Lennoxville on Saturday night. 
 
Donned in pink uniforms for Shoot for the Cure, the host Gaiters (7-13, 2-11 RSEQ) held tight with the Rouge et Or (22-2, 12-1 RSEQ) in a low scoring first half.  Neither team was able to find their stride as Laval led just 8-5 after the first stanza and 17-13 at halftime.
 
Gagne (Saguenay, Que.) scored 20 second half points and finished with a game-high 24, on 10-19 shooting to ensure the Rouge et Or would not make headlines with the upset. She was the only Rouge et Or in double figures. Laval outscored Bishop's 21-15 in the third quarter for a 38-28 lead then opened the fourth on a 12-0 run to extend their lead and put the game all but out of reach.  The final ended up at 63-39.
 
For Bishop's Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Santo Domingo de Guzmain) led the way playing all 40 minutes and scoring 15 points to be the lone Gaiter with more than nine.
 
Laval's size advantage was evident as they out-rebounded Bishop's 51-40 including 22 on the offensive end.  From the field Laval finished 25-76 (32.9 per cent) including 7-35 (20 per cent) from behind the arc.  Bishop's was only able to go 15-51 (29.4 per cent) from the floor and 5-24 (20.8 per cent) from downtown.
 
Although not mathematically eliminated Bishop's road to the playoffs becomes steeper as Concordia (12-11, 5-8 RSEQ) beat UQAM (13-11, 7-7) on Saturday night to move three games ahead of the Gaiters with just three remaining.  Bishop's will need to run the table, have Concordia lose their remaining three and the Gaiters will need to beat the Stingers by 10 to qualify for the RSEQ Final-4.
 
Next up for Gaiters are the McGill Martlets (18-8, 7-6 RSEQ) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Montreal.
 
Note: The Shoot for the Cure event that teamed up with the women's soccer team's Kick for the Cure raised well over $2000 for Ruban Rose, the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation as part of the nation-wide initiative.
 
Stay up-to-date with the Gaiters anytime at www.gaiters.ca or on Social Media using @BishopsGaiters.
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