By Rowan Halpenny – Contributor

From Oct. 5-6, four different universities (Laval, Ontario Tech, University of Ottawa and Queen’s) travelled to Lennoxville to partake in the Bishop’s basketball tournament. This was the second consecutive year that Bishop’s hosted pre-season action in Mitchell Gymnasium. In 2022, it was only the men’s teams who played in the tournament. This year saw the excellent addition of the women’s teams.

The weekend did not go as planned for the Gaiters, with the women going 0-2 and the men going 1-1. A positive take away from the losses is that Bishop’s played strong teams who will prepare them for their regular-season action against Quebec schools. 

On Thursday, Oct. 5, the women fell to the University of Ottawa in an extremely close game – 62-59. The Gaiters came out strong and looked like a new team in comparison  to their first game a couple of weeks prior. However, an energetic third-quarter burst from Ottawa proved to be too much for Bishop’s to handle. Senior Kalina Alexander-Renaud was outstanding for the Gaiters, netting a career-high 14 points, along with four triples. Victoria Guana was solid as well, scoring 14 points of her own.

The men were able to win on Thursday night, beating an athletic Ontario Tech squad 88-80. The Gaiters controlled the game from the opening tip and received contributions from a variety of players. Five players managed to score double figures. Sophomore Etienne Gagnon had a near-perfect night going 11/12 from the field and scoring 24 points, complimented by nine rebounds. 

On Friday, Oct. 6, the Queen’s Gaels got the best of both the Gaiters’ teams. Queen’s has quickly turned into a top basketball program in the country for both men and women. Last year, the women’s team were the national silver medalists, and the men finished sixth in the country. The Queen’s women dominated Bishop’s throughout the game and came away with a 71-45 victory. It was similar on the men’s side, with Queen’s coming out and hitting 19 three-pointers on their way to a 99-76 win. The matchup was a homecoming game for Gaels’ player Connor Kelly, who graduated from Bishop’s in 2022. Gaiter Charles Robert said, “It was great to be on the same court as him, even though it was strange not to see him in a purple jersey”. 

The Gaiters’ women travelled to Vancouver for three more pre-season games beginning  on Oct. 12. The men will wrap up their pre-season in Quebec City on Oct. 19. Both teams will look to use lessons from the losses to drive their next games.

Photo courtesy of Hannah McCarthy