After a three month break and an opening week bye, the Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team hit the road and returned to the court for the first competition since November.

The Gaiters came up just short on Thursday night, dropping a competitive 65-62 decision to the Concordia Stingers in the team's 2022 debut. 

Bishop's and Concordia started the game slowly, combining for 25 points in the first quarter. The Gaiters held a narrow 13-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play.

The teams upped their shooting percentages in the second frame but it was the home team that led the scoring with 25 points. At the break, the Gaiters trailed the Stingers 37-28.

Coming out of the half, the Gaiters pressed hard, but the Stingers managed to extend their lead to 13 - making the score 58-45, headed into the final frame.

After trailing by as much as 15 in the third, the Gaiters posted a huge fourth quarter. The purple and white played strong defense, holding the Stingers to just seven points in the closing 10 minutes, while scoring 17 to make it a one possession game in the last minute. Despite the fourth quarter push and a dramatic final 60 seconds for the Gaiters, that would be as close as they'd get, falling by a final of 65-62.

Amaiquen Siciliano (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Velez Sarsfield) led the way for the Gaiters with 25 points, Victoria Gauna (Mendoza, Argentina/) added 11 points and Jael Kabunda (Montreal, Que./College Montmorency) chipped in for 10 points and 11 rebounds - recording the game's only double-double.

Next Up

The Gaiters will now return home to play the second half of the home-and-home Saturday night at Mitchell Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 6PM.

Stay tuned to www.gaiters.ca and #GaiterNation or @BishopsGaiters on social media to follow the Gaiters.