TULITA/FORT NORMAN - Thomas Simpson School Wolfpack narrowly missed winning first place while playing against their long-time rivals the Tulita T-Wolves on their home turf.

Members of the TSS Wolfpack including Logan McKay, back left, Laurent Isiah, Thomas Roche, centre, Charles Gargan and Dakota Burrill create a zone defence during a game against the Tulita T-Wolves. - photo courtesy of Alex Campbell

An eight-member team flew to Tulita for the first time to compete in the Tulita T-Wolves Invitational from Nov. 26 to 28.

It was the first tournament of the season for the team, which played in the senior division.

The Wolfpack started the tournament with a 91-21 trouncing of a Yellowknife girls' team before facing harder challenges.

In their first game against the T-Wolves the Wolfpack lost 56-32. The players turned the ball over far too often to the T-Wolves, said Kristen Morrison, who coached the team together with Alex Campbell and Tim Harden.

"We weren't aggressive on defence and our offence was extremely predictable," she said.

One defeat lead to another as the team lost to Deline 50-48. The two teams were tied in the last 30 seconds of the game and the Wolfpack had last possession of the ball.

Instead of holding the ball and forcing the game into overtime or making the last shot attempt the team made a failed basket attempt and turned the ball over allowing Deline to score.

A wholesale change took place among the players, however, in the game to decide third place.

"This was the game everyone started playing as a team," Morrison said.

"It was a totally different team than the first couple games."

On the court against Deline again the Wolfpack switched to a zone defense, picked up its intensity and got more rebounds. The changes allowed the Fort Simpson team to win by an approximate 15 points.

The stage was then set for the final showdown against the T-Wolves.

The Wolfpack started strong leading by 27-22 in the first half. In the second half, however, the lead faltered as poor decisions allowed Tulita to close the gap, Morrison said.

The game ended with Tulita taking first place in the tournament 54-51 and the Wolfpack finishing in second.

The T-Wolves provided the strongest competition and used a lot of pressure defense and made contact plays to draw fouls, said Charles Gargan, 18.

Gargan was named the top defensive player of the tournament.

A number of other Wolfpack players were also recognized for their performances. Thomas Roche, Dakota Burrill and Laurent Isiah were named to the tournament's all star team.

Burrill, 17, one of the team's co-captains, said the Wolfpack will be using this tournament as a building block for the rest of the season.

The younger players need help developing their skills and the whole team needs to communicate better on the court, Burrill said. Learning to be patient and make the right moves will also benefit the team.

The Wolfpack's next tournament is in Fort Nelson, B.C., in early December. All of the players improved during the tournament and they each know what they have to work on, Morrison said.

"The talent we have on the team is very promising," she said.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.