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Big weekend for Bishop's Athletic Department
Basketball teams prepare for crucial double-header as ski team travels to Lanaudiere

Jan. 26, 2006 – It will be a busy couple of days for the Bishop's University Athletic Department this weekend as both the men's and women's basketball teams prepare to host a pair of criticial conference games while the Gaiters ski team gets set to travel to the Montcalm ski resort in Lanaudière to participate in two slalom competitions.

Men's Basketball
After having posted an impressive 6-2 record in the first half of the 16-game QSSF regular season, the Bishop's Gaiters drive towards the postseason will continue this weekend as Bishop's gets set to host a pair of bitter conference rivals. The Gaiters will host the nationally ranked Concordia Stingers (#10) on Friday evening before returning to the hardwood on Saturday night for a match-up with #8 ranked Laval.

Following last weekend's bye, Bishop's will return to action Friday evening when the 7-2 Concordia Stingers come to Lennoxville to face the Gaiters for the third time in the last four weeks. Friday evening's game will be crucial to both teams as first place in the QSSF will be on the line. In the last meeting between the two teams in Montreal two weeks ago, Concordia defeated Bishop's 81-68, avenging an 82-77 loss to the Gaiters on January 6th.

Concordia is led by Canadian rookie-of-the-year candidate Damian Buckley (Montreal, Qc), who's 18.7 points per game rank 3rd in the conference and 11th in the nation. Buckley also averages 5.1 rebounds per game (5th in QSSF) and 3.78 assists (3rd) while ranking first in free-throw percentage (.847) and second in field-goal percentage (.659). The Stingers high-powered offense (they average a league leading 86 points per game) is also led by guard Chris Blackwood of Toronto (7th in assists, 2nd in three-point accuracy) and veteran forward Patrick Perrotte who averages 15.1 points, 5 rebounds and 2.14 assists per game.

After hosting the first-place Concordia Stingers on Friday evening, things won't get any easier for Eddie Pomykala and the Gaiters on Saturday night when they host the 8th ranked team in Canada: the Laval Rouge et Or.

Laval and Bishop's have already faced each other twice this season, with both games ending in dramatic Gaiter victories: on November 18th Bishop's snapped a 14 game losing streak against Laval with a 64-63 road win against the then top ranked Rouge et Or. One week later, Bishop's improved to a perfect 2-0 against the defending conference champs when they came back from a 16 point half-time deficit to beat Laval 72-64.

Laval is led by the one-two punch of All-Canadian candidates Dominique Soucy and Jean-Philippe Morin, who rank first and second in conference scoring and 5th and 7th in the nation, with 22.0 and 22.3 points per game respectively. Soucy was especially dominant against the Gaiters the last time the two teams met, scoring a game-high 35 points in a losing effort. Morin, meanwhile, is coming off of a 33 point performace against McGill a week ago and also leads the conference in rebounding with 10.7 boards per game.

As they head into a tough weekend double-header, particular attention should be paid to several key players on the Gaiters roster. As always, all eyes will be on fifth-year centre Jeff Szita (Timmins, On) who is having another MVP-calibre year, ranking in the top-five in conference scoring (18.4 points per game), rebounding (7.6 per game), field-goal percentage (.643), blocks (1.75 per game) and free-throw percentage (.731).

Bishop's, however, is far from being a one man team. The Gaiters, who rank second in the QSSF in offense (73.4 points per game) and first in defense (65.8 points allowed per game), are also led by second-year forwards Junior Nicolas and Doug McCooeye, who are averaging 13.5 and 11.0 points per game and by point-guard Kevin Watson of Toronto who's 4.25 assists per game rank second in the conference.

Women's Basketball
Coming off of a 56-39 road win over the Concordia Stingers two weeks ago, Rod Gilpin and the 7-1 Bishop's Lady Gaiters are set to return to the court this weekend. Bishop's has a pair of crucial conference games scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings, with Friday evening's match-up against the winless Concordia Stingers serving as a prelude to Saturday evening's tilt with bitter rivals Laval (8-1) who are ranked 4th in the country and currently hold a half-game lead over the Lady Gaiters in the QSSF.

Friday evening's match-up between the Concordia Stingers (0-9) and the Bishop's Lady Gaiters (7-1) will mark the third game between the two teams in the last four weeks, and the fourth if you include the non-conference match-up that took place at the 2005 Concordia Tournament over the holiday break. And while the Stingers are still looking for their first conference win of the 2005-2006 season, their 53-49 upset of the Lady Gaiters at the Concordia Tournament shows that they are a team that Gilpin and the Lady Gaiters cannot afford to take lightly.

Fourth-year Concordia forward Melanie Laroque of Quebc City ranks fourth in QSSF scoring with an 11.7 points per game average while second-year guard Stephanie Ramonas ranks second in rebounding with 6.4 rebounds per game. Laroque led all Stinger scorers with 10 points the last time the two teams met.

It will be a battle of conference heavyweights on Saturday evening when the 8-1 Laval Rouge et Or come to Mitchell Gymnasium to face their arch-rivals, the 7-1 Bishop's Lady Gaiters. Not only will first place in the QSSF be on the line when Laval and Bishop's meet but, perhaps more importantly, so will conference bragging rights. With the two teams having alternated as conference champs over the past two seasons and with the season series between the two teams tied at a game apiece, the winner of Saturday evening's game may become the early favorite to win this year's QSSF title.

Laval, which boasts the top ranked offense and defense in the QSSF, is led by Jose Lalonde (11.3 points per game, 4.22 assists), Marian Fortier (10.1) and Caroline D'Amours (9.8). Defensively, the Rouge et Or can rely on Lalonde, who leads the conference in rebounding. D'Amours, who's 4 steals per game lead the nation, as well as on Marian Fortier who leads the QSSF in blocks with 0.86 per game.

Gilpin and the Lady Gaiters, meanwhile, can counter the with an extremely talented and deep line-up of their own. All-Canadian candidate Emilie Crofton of San Jose, California has been nothing short of dominant for the Lady Gaiters this season, ranking in the top-five in conference scoring, field-goal percentage, assists and free-throw percentage while leading the nation in three-point shooting (.579). In addition second-year centre Laure Pitfield of Ottawa leads the conference in scoring (15.8 points per game) while veteran Carly Clarke (Halifax, N.S.) has filled in admirably for the injured France Lanoie.

Both the men's and women's teams will be in action again next Friday evening when they host McGill. Bishop's will then travel to St.Foy for a Sunday afternoon rematch with the Rouge et Or.

Alpine Skiing
The Bishop's University ski-team will be at the Montcalm ski resort in the Lanaudière region this weekend to participate in two Quebec ski-circuit slalom competitons.

The Lady Gaiters will be looking to build on the momentum ganied two weeks ago when they travel to Lanaudiere. After one weekend of competition, Bishop's (1825 points) trails only McGill (1925 points) in the Quebec ski circuit standings. A mere 100 points currently separates the two rivals, with eight races still to be held this year.

Rookie Lauren Bobby (Timmins, Ont), who is currently the second ranked individual on the circuit, should be helped by the return of captain Alicia Wood (Aurora, Ont) who specializes in the slalom but was hampered by back injuries and was unable to compete in the first two races of the season. Last season, Wood finished in 5th and 6th place at the two slalom runs held at Montcalm.

Fourth-year veteran Jennifer Bertram (Vancouver, B.C.), rookie Jennifer Post (Prevessin-Moens, France) and Katie Bruce (Dartmouth, N.S.), who rank 4th, 8th and 12th respectively, are also worth paying attention to. Last season, Bruce fininshed in 4th at Montcalm, a career high.

On the men's side, the Gaiters will be relying on a pair of Western rookies in Graham Carr (Calgary, Al) and Ian Snowsell (Banff, Alb.), who are currently ranked 4th and 21st in the conference respectively. They are joined by Toronto's Jeremy Mawson, who is currently ranked 16th after two races.