LA CRETE, ALBERTA - The Wolfpack will be looking to build on a recent tournament in Alberta in preparation for an NWT-wide basketball tourney this month.

The senior boys' team from Thomas Simpson School in Fort Simpson will be competing in the NWT Power Corp Senior Cager basketball tournament in Yellowknife from Feb. 26 to Feb 28.

The Wolfpack has been preparing for the event since January, said coach Kristen Morrison.

At the beginning of the year the team made history by being the first Fort Simpson team to win a gold medal at the Wolfpack Invitational, the hometown tournament. Despite improving over the last month the Wolfpack was unable to repeat its championship performance at the Northern Exposure Hoops Classic in La Crete, Alta.

The Wolfpack played its first game in La Crete on Feb. 5 almost immediately after an eight hour bus ride.

"It took them time in the first game to settle in," said Morrison. The eight member team, which was playing together for the first time, faced the hometown favourites, La Crete Public School. The game ended in a 84-45 defeat for the Wolfpack and La Crete went on to win the tournament.

Wolfpack players, including Lief Amundson, Steven Boutillier, Charles Gargan, B.J. Burrill, Laurent Isiah, Brandon Tonka, Thomas Roche and Vince Browning from Hay River, started to gel by the end of the game, Morrison said.

On Saturday, the team played a strong game against Central Alberta Catholic High School coming away with a decisive 78-64 win.

Coach Morrison was pleased with his team's performance, which combined pressure defensively and patience on offensive. These are some of the concepts the athletes have been working on during practice and it's beginning to show, said Morrison.

"They're learning to play more intelligent basketball and take away the strengths of their opponents," she said.

In the third and final game against a team from Peace River the Wolfpack got off to a great start. Fort Simpson held the lead for most of the game before fortunes turned.

"They started to break down mentally and their opponents took advantage of them," said Morrison.

Mental lapses, something the team will be looking to avoid in the Cager, led to a 74-66 loss for the Wolfpack.

Considering the Wolfpack's performance at La Crete Thomas Roche, a member of the team, was positive about the results.

"As a team we've improved since the tournament here," he said.

Roche said the Wolfpack will bring its best game to Yellowknife.