LENNOXVILLE, Que. - Two Argentinian junior national team members will make their Bishop's Gaiters regular season debuts this week during a home-and-home series with the No.2 Concordia Stingers in RSEQ University women's basketball.
Amaiquen Siciliano (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Velez Sarsfield) and
Tamara Pinto (Buenos Aires, Argentina/) both will suit up for the first time in the regular season on Thursday when the Gaiters are in Montreal for a 6 p.m. tip. Concordia makes the trek to Lennoxville on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the back end of the home-and-home.
Siciliano, a point guard joins the team in January after administrative issues held her out of the first semester while Pinto, a 6'0 forward, returns from injury.
Where we Stand
At 4-1 Concordia sits in second place in the RSEQ. They are 13-2 overall and ranked second in the nation behind the Laval Rouge et Or.
Bishop's meanwhile is 1-5 and currently holding down the fourth and final playoff spot with lots of basketball left. The Gaiters are 3-10 overall against U SPORTS competition.
What Break?
It was a short break for the Gaiters as they quickly returned to action after Christmas. They hosted a tournament on Dec. 29 & 30 that featured a trio of top-10 teams. Bishop's lost 72-44 to No. 5 Ottawa and 57-57 to No. 7 Carleton.
Last time we met
Concordia used a strong second half to turn a one-point halftime lead into a 72-52 victory in the team's only other meeting this year. Leading 34-33 at the break, the Stingers held Bishop's to just 19 second half points including only three in the final stanza en route to the victory in Montreal.
Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, Que./Cegep de Montmorency) scored 21 to lead all scorers in the losing cause. She also grabbed 11 rebounds while
Maude Archambault (St-Augustine-de-Desmaures, Que./Cegep de Montmorency) added 14 points. Caroline Task scored 20 to lead the way for Concordia.
W2W4
Concordia boasts the top two scorers in the RSEQ in Myriam Leclerc and Caroline Task. They average 19.2 and 17.4 points per game respectively. Leclerc is also the top thief in the conference with 3.6 steals per game.
On top of the Argentinian duo returning for the Gaiters they will look for veterans Archambault and Milhomme to continue to lead them offensively. Archambault is scoring at a rate of 14.5 points per game while Milhomme has put up 11 per game.
Marie Berrouette (Montreal, Que./Dawson College) is second in the conference with 11.3 rebounds per game.
Coach's Corner
"We keep playing premier teams in the country," said Gaiters' bench boss
Craig Norman. "Concordia is tenacious, tough, aggressive and well coached and it is always tough to play in that gym. That being said we are looking forward to the challenge, and are not intimidated because we have played so many top teams.
"Ama (Siciliano) and Tamara (Pinto) will be thrown into the fire but it will be a wonderful experience for them. We are in a transition phase in January with the addition of the two of them but it is a neat challenge for the coaching staff."
Nothing but Net
Saturday's games can be viewed live online at
www.gaiters.ca/webcast.
Tickets, Get Your Tickets!
Tickets for Saturday's games are available online at
www.gaiters.ca/tickets or gameday at the door.
Next Up
After the home-and-home with Concordia this Thursday and Saturday, the Gaiters will have another two game series, this time with UQAM (0-6 RSEQ, 4-7 U SPORTS). They will play on Thursday, Jan. 17 in Montreal and Saturday, Jan. 19 in Lennoxville.
Social Corner
Stay up-to-date anytime with the Bishop's Gaiters at
www.gaiters.ca or on social media by using @BishopsGaiters or #GaiterNation.
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