LENNOXVILLE, Que -- Montrealer Nadege Pluviose scored a career-high 18 points as McGill upset second-place Bishop's 62-58 in RSEQ women's basketball at the Mitchell Gym, Saturday.
 
It was the fourth victory in five games for McGill, which avenged Thursday's heart-breaking loss in double overtime and marked their first triumph over the Gaiters in four match-ups this season. McGill, which sits fourth in the Quebec conference at 6-8, also reduced their magic number to one. A Martlets victory over their last two games, or a Concordia (4-9) loss over their final three, would clinch a playoff berth for McGill.

BU, which missed an opportunity to move into a first-place tie with Laval (9-4), fell to 8-5 with three games left. The last time that the Gaiters finished atop the standings was in 2003-04, when they posted a 12-4 record.
 
McGill had a comfortable 38-24 lead going into halftime, but Bishop's fought back in the second half and almost mirrored McGill's pre-intermission production, outscoring the Martlets 34-24 down the back stretch.
 
The Gaiters managed to tie the game at 58-58 with only two minutes remaining but Pluviose responded 24 seconds later with a lay-up from the paint to shut down the comeback attempt.
 
"We played well for most of the game but in the second half I think we came unglued a few times," said Martlet bench boss Ryan Thorne. "I think we've got to do a better job of keeping a lead and not being complacent just because we are up... To borrow from Kobe Bryant's "Mamba Mentality", you just gotta keep going at them as if every possession matters."
 
Pluviose, a 5-foot-10 transfer from the NCAA's Robert Morris University, shot 7-for-13 from the floor, including 1-for-4 from the beyond the arc, and was 3-for-4 on free-throws. The applied marketing certificate student also contributed seven rebounds, three steals and an assist.
 
"Pluviose has been great of late, I think that it shows her understanding of what I expect of her and what I want for her, and what she is free to do," said Thorne of his leading scorer that has reached double figures in eight of her 11 games. "When you've come from the NCAA, there are different restrictions, expectations and we just want her to play fully, and she's starting to understand that a little more."

Gladys Hakizimana, a native Montrealer, scored 11 points, in addition to six rebounds a pair of assists and two steals. Other high scoring Martlets were GG Cabillo-Abante and Kamsi Ogbudibe with eight points apiece, and Sirah Diarra with a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
"I think Diarra's is good at trading shots in the paint, and she's able to get us boards. Her minutes were limited because she's got to do some more things for us offensively and be more engaged," said Thorne of the 6-foot-1 sophomore who registered only 19 minutes on the court. "Overall she's one of our best close players and we understand that."
 
Bishop's had four players reach double-digits, including Jael Kabunda who registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Deborah Aboagye (13), Metchline Gabelus (12), and Amaiquen Siciliano (10).
 
McGill pulled down a season-high 51 rebounds, compared to 41 from Bishop's.It was the team's highest regular season total under the glass since back-to-back 51-rebound efforts against the Gaiters last season (Jan. 24 & 26, 2019).

McGill shot 36.3 per cent from the field (24/65), went only 3-for-15 from downtown, and made a solid 78.6 per cent from the free-throw line (11/14). The Gaiters shot 31.4 per cent from the field (22/70), 28.6 from beyond the arc (8/28) and went 6-for-18 from the charity stripe.
 
Bishop's (8-5) returns to their home-court on Feb. 13 against first-place Laval (9-4) at 6 p.m., before closing out their schedule with a home game versus Concordia (Feb. 20) and a road game at UQAM (Feb. 22).

McGill (6-8) hosts cross-town rival Concordia (4-9) on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tip-off set for 2 p.m. at Love Competition Hall. That showdown will not be part of a doubleheader as the men's game will follow at 4 p.m. but it will be played at Concordia for the 2nd annual George Lengvari Cup.

The Martlets will then close out the campaign at home to UQAM on Feb. 20. Post-season play is slated to begin on Feb. 26.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

RSEQ STANDINGS & STATS