Gaiters head to provincial capital Saturday
The Bishop’s Gaiters basketball squads are preparing for a trip to Quebec City on Saturday to face the Laval Rouge et Or. The women will tipoff at 5 p.m. with the men to follow at 7 p.m. The women’s hockey team is also in action this weekend; they play Red Wine at the W.B. Scott arena on Friday starting at 6:20 p.m.
The struggling Bishop’s women’s basketball team (0-9) will face the Rouge et Or (3-6) who will look to put a strangle hold on the fourth and final playoff spot. The Gaiters and Laval have met twice so far this campaign with Laval dominating both games. In November in Lennoxville Bishop’s was on the short end of an 80-47 score. The two teams met again in Quebec City on January 11 with the hosts coming out on top by a final of 75-50.
Bishop’s is coming off of a 60-43 loss to the UQAM Citadins (7-3) on Wednesday night in Mitchell Gymnasium while Laval will be well rested. They have not stepped onto the hardwood in 10 days where they fell to the Citadins in Montreal on January 16. Laval’s Marie-Pascale Nadeau (Levis, Quebec) leads the league in rebounding (10.6 per game) is second in scoring (15.9 points per game) and has the best field goal percentage (53.8 percent). She also has 25 blocked shots on the year, 18 more than her nearest competitor. The Gaiters will look to Gabrielle Chamberland (Sherbrooke, Quebec) who is seventh in the RSEQ in scoring (12.2 points per game) and sixth in free throw percentage (76.5 percent) although she has attempted the most in the league (68).
The Gaiters men’s team (6-3) snapped a two game losing skid on Wednesday when they rolled over the UQAM Citadins (3-7) 84-60 in Mitchell Gym. Bishop’s now sits in a tie for first place in the RSEQ with McGill, although the Redmen have a game in hand.
As with the women, the Laval men (2-7) will have to dust off the rust before playing on Saturday as it will have been 10 days since their last league game. The Gaiters and Rouge et Or have met twice this year, Bishop’s winning both contests. In November the Gaiters convincingly put aside Laval 74-58 in Lennoxville. Their second matchup was much tighter as the Gaiters escaped with a 68-65 victory at PEPS in Quebec City. As Bishop’s battles for top spot in the RSEQ, Laval is hoping to gain ground in the playoff race as they sit one win behind the Citadins in the hunt for the post season.
Mike Andrews (Oakville, Ontario) has been a force off the bench for Bishop’s. He is the best shot blocker in the RSEQ (2.2 per game), is second in scoring (16 points per game) and field goal percentage (52.3 percent) and seventh in rebounding (6.8 per game). The Gaiters Tim Hunter (Baie D’Urfe, Quebec) leads the conference in steals with 2.8 per game and also has six blocked shots. The Rouge et Or will lean on Thibaud Dezutter (Namur). He leads the RSEQ in scoring (16.2 points per game) and three point field goal percentage (65.4 percent on 9-17 shooting) and is sixth in rebounding (7.0 per game).
The women’s and men’s basketball teams travel to Quebec City on Saturday, January 26 for a matchup with Laval. Both the women’s game at 5 p.m. and the men’s game at 7 p.m. will be webcast live at www.rougeetor.tv.
