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FORT NELSON, B.C.
Fort Simpson basketball players have had a strong start to their season, a momentum they are hoping to build on.

The Senior Wolfpack team celebrates winning the U19 division at the Fort Nelson Invitational Basketball Tournament. Team members include, back row, from left, coach Neil Barry, Steven Thompson, Laurent Isaiah, Brandon Davis and coach Kristen Morrison. Front row, Garret Yatsallie, Ernest Tsetso, Nick Wrigley and Devan Horassi. Missing from the photo is assistant coach Charles Gargan. - photo courtesy of Charles Gargan

Sixteen athletes from Thomas Simpson School including seven senior male, six junior male and three female basketball players, competed in the Fort Nelson Invitational Basketball Tournament from Dec. 14 to 15. The senior male team, the Wolfpack, won their division.

It's a great start to the season considering the team didn't win any of its four tournaments last year, said coach Neil Barry.

"We expect to keep improving as the season goes on," he said.

The team's goal is to win all of the tournaments it enters this year. In Fort Nelson, the Wolfpack defeated Mountain Christian School from Dawson Creek 54-36 and the Fort Nelson junior team 48-46. The Wolfpack had a close loss to the Fort Nelson senior team, but returned to beat them 56-52 in the final.

"We played well," said Laurent Isaiah, the Wolfpack's centre.

Really good year

The team improved throughout the tournament, said Isaiah. The event also gave the Wolfpack a chance to identify areas that need improvement. These include communication, more consistent defence and more structured offence.

If all of the team members get into the correct positions, the Wolfpack will have a really good year, said coach Kristen Morrison. All five players on the floor will need to buy into the offensive and defensive positioning, she said.

The junior team played in the senior division. For all but one of the players it was their first regulation basketball game.

Both Barry and Morrison agreed the difference in the team between the start and finish of the tournament was like night and day.

"It was impossible not to notice the improvement," Morrison said.

Cheered each other

The team played three games. They lost to the mixed senior and junior Mountain Christian School team but then beat the Fort Nelson junior team 43-40 and the Fort Nelson Grade 8 team 63-34. The juniors also played most of the senior Wolfpack's game against the Fort Nelson juniors, a game that ended with a 48-46 win.

The senior Wolfpack players are great mentors to the junior athletes, said Morrison.

"They cheered each other on the whole weekend," she said.

Morrison thanked Charles Gargan, a former Wolfpack member who graduated this summer, for helping coach the junior team.

The three female players, Jennifer Gast, Heather Desjarlais and Lisa Muyambo also showed great improvement. The girls added Fort Nelson players to their team in order to compete.

The team lost 38-17 and 45-14 to Mountain Christian School but then won 39-17 against Fort Nelson. It doesn't show in the scores, but the girls' confidence and their ability to play defensively and get rebounds improved, said Barry.

Following the tournament, all of the athletes now understand where they are and what they need to build on, said Morrison. The junior and girls teams won't compete again until the Wolfpack Invitational in early February in Fort Simpson. The senior team will be in La Crete, Alta., on Jan. 11.

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