Women: Gaiters clinch playoff spot with win over Martlets
Piribauer scores 16 to lead Gaiters to third straight win
Game Stats

Third year centre Amanda Piribauer (Kingston, Ont) scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots to lead the Bishop’s Gaiters women’s basketball team to a 52-47 win over the visiting McGill Martlets on Saturday evening.

While Bishop’s has been plagued by slow starts on several occasions this season, the Gaiters got off to a strong start against the Martlets, jumping out to an early 16-8 lead. McGill, however, would respond with a 17-9 run of their own to make the score 25-25 at halftime.

The two teams continued to go back and forth in the second half and entered the fourth quarter with the score tied at 40. After a free throw by McGill guard Aurelie Lauzier with 3:30 remaining cut the Gaiters lead to one, Bishop’s went on a late 4-0 run to clinch the victory. A coast-to-coast layup by Gaiter guard Marie-Ève Lemoine (Sorel, Que.) with 90 seconds remaining made the score 50-47 while a pair of free throws by forward Robyn Wilson (Vancouver, B.C.) with 20 seconds put the game away.

Both teams struggled from the floor with the Gaiters shooting 27.3% from the field and the Martlets connecting on 28.1% of their field goal attempts. Bishop’s forced 27 McGill turnovers, and turned the ball over 19 times.

Wilson earned her first double-double of the year, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Rikki Bowles led the Martlets with 9 points.

With the win, the Gaiters not only clinched a QUBL playoff berth for the 12^th consecutive season but also kept alive their hopes of hosting a playoff game.

Bishop’s (10-14, 10-12, 6-7) will look to extend their winning streak to a season high four games next Friday evening at 6 p.m. when they host the UQAM Citadins (8-4 QUBL). Bishop’s currently trails UQAM by 6 points for second place in the QUBL, with the Citadins holding a game in hand.

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Men: Redmen defeat Gaiters 78-70
Fourth quarter rally falls short for Gaiters
Game Stats

McGill guard Sean Anthony scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter as the Redmen defeated the Bishop’s Gaiters 78-70 on Saturday evening. With Anthony leading the way, the Redmen jumped out to an early lead against the Gaiters and then withstood a Bishop’s rally in the fourth quarter to hand the Gaiters their 11^th straight loss.

While Bishop’s managed to grab an early 10-5 lead, the Redmen quickly regrouped and went on an impressive 32-9 run to make the score 37-19 after the first quarter. Bishop’s, however, responded with a 17-7 second quarter run to cut McGill’s lead to 8 points by halftime.

The two teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter before a 14-2 McGill run late in the quarter gave the Redmen a 69-51 lead entering the final frame. While Bishop’s did outscore McGill 19-9 in the fourth quarter it proved to be a case of too little, too late as the Redmen came away with the win.

While Anthony’s 26 point, 12 rebound performance clearly led the way for the Redmen, McGill guard Moustafa El Zanaty also had an impressive evening, finishing with 21 points, three assists and three steals.

Junior Nicolas (Montreal, Que.) led the Gaiters with 18 points, four assists and three steals while forward Damon Thomas Anderson (Verdun, Que.) finished with 11 points, freshman Kevin Selman (Pierrefonds, Que.) and Doug McCooeye (Point Claire, Que.) finished with 10 points each.

Bishop’s (6-16, 6-15, 2-11) will be in action again next Friday evening when they host the UQAM Citadins (4-8 QUBL) at 8 p.m. Bishop’s currently trails UQAM by four points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the QUBL, with the Citadins holding a game in hand.

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Recaps written by Sean O’Neill