By Michael Boriero
The Bishop’s Gaiters women’s basketball team sits undefeated five games into the 2022-2023 Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) regular season, and their prowess on the hard court has propelled them into second overall in the U SPORTS nationwide power ranking.
Bishop’s did a tidy bit of work last Thursday, picking apart the Concordia Stingers defense en route to a comfortable 99-64 victory. It was the closest the Gaiters have come to breaking the elusive 100-point threshold since they dropped 103 against Ontario Tech back in September.
What is perhaps more impressive is the Gaiters have not lost a game since Oct. 6, when they fell to the Carleton Ravens 72-68 during pre-season action. Bishop’s was back in the win column a week later, thumping Nipissing 92-56, and they have been on a tear ever since then.
But while winning streaks, high rankings, and national notoriety are all positives, first-year Gaiters head coach Dianna Ros told The Record that she doesn’t spend too much time thinking about those details, or discussing them with the players, coaches and support staff.
“The only thing I speak about is that we’re ranked 18th in the country on the defensive end and so that’s what kind of bothers me a bit. You can’t be ranked second in the country and also ranked 18th defensively, so that’s the motivator,” Ros shared in a phone interview on Monday.
Ros added that she has been on teams that have been ranked first in the country for nearly an entire season only to go on and lose in the semi-finals at the national championships. She is determined to avoid complacency. If Bishop’s can’t tighten up, she noted, they won’t go far.
