SHERBROOKE, Que. - The Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team gets the non-conference portion of their 2017-18 schedule underway this weekend, as they head to North Bay, Ont., for a tournament at Nipissing University. This weekend is the first of three non-conference road trips for the Gaiters, as they prepare for regular season play, which gets underway in early November.
The Gaiters will play twice, taking on the Algoma Thunderbirds, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by the host Nipissing Lakers on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Last year, the Gaiters had a very successful fall season, winning both the Helen Campbell tournament in Fredericton and the Marie's Mini Mart Fall Classic in St. John's, Nfld., as they went 5-2 in non-conference play.
The Gaiters visited North Bay two years ago, when they went 2-1 in the Nipissing tournament, defeating Algoma and the host Lakers, while losing to Humber College of Toronto.
Gaiters head coach Craig Norman interviewed by CJMQ radio.
Craig Norman's squad has eight players back from the 2016-17 squad, 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. They led the Gaiters in scoring last year with 11.3 and 11.2 points per game, respectively, while veteran centre
Mara Marchizotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina/) was the other Gaiter to average in double figures overall, with 10.7 ppg.
Marchizotti returns to the Gaiters after spending 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. That was her first participation at the senior level, after twice competing for her country in U19 competition.
Algoma, who the Gaiters play on Friday, finished 7-19 overall (4-16 OUA) in 2016-17, their best record since joining the OUA in 2013. The Gaiters' only matchup against the Thunderbirds was a 60-35 win two years ago at the Nipssing tournament.
Saturday's foes, Nipissing, is a familiar one for the Gaiters, as they have played them in each of the last two years. Last year, Bishop's downed the Lakers 76-61 in St. John's, Nfld., and the Gaiters scored 63-48 win in North Bay two years ago. The Lakers went 2-29 overall (1-18 OUA) last season, their third in the OUA.
The Gaiters open conference play on Saturday, Nov. 4, as they host the UQAM Citadins at the Mitchell Gym.
