KINGSTON, Ont. – The start of a new year often means a time for new hope and new excitement and the St. Lawrence College Vikings women's basketball team has a great opportunity to start its year with a clean slate.

The team is hosting the Fourth Annual Vikings Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament, Friday, Jan. 6 to Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012 at the St. Lawrence College gym, located besides the school's residence building by King Street West and Country Club Drive in Kingston.

The Vikings have invited teams from Algoma, Nouvelles Frontieres, Georgian, Loyalist, Mohawk, Sainte-Foy and Durham to the showcase. The home team opens the tournament against Eastern Ontario rival Loyalist at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 6. The tournament concludes on Sunday, with the consolation championship at 1 p.m. and the championships game at 3 p.m.

The Vikings have a young roster, almost entirely made up of Kingston residents, who play in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.

Among its leaders are fifth-year forward Corisa Cluett, who is eighth in the OCAA in rebounds with an average of 9.2 per game; fourth-year guard Alyssa Rodrigues, who is 16th in the OCAA in assists with 18; and third-year guard Keshia Conway, who is eighth in the league in three-point shots with 14.

Here is the schedule for the tournament:

Friday, Jan. 6
Game 1: Durham vs. Nouvelles Frontieres, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Georgian vs. Mohawk, 5 p.m.
Game 3: St. Lawrence vs. Loyalist, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Sainte-Foy vs. Algoma, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 7
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 1 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 2, vs. Winner Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 8
Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 9 a.m.
Game 10: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 11 a.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 1 p.m. (Consolation Championship)
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3 p.m. (Championship)

Source: St. Lawrence College