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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The basketball season for the Wolfpack teams from Thomas Simpson School didn't end on the high note the players and coaches had hoped for.

Fort Simpson's Laurent Isaiah drives to the hoop while defender Hugh Evalik attempts to make a steal during a game against Yellowknife's Sir John Franklin High School Falcons. The Thomas Simpson School Wolfpack competed in the boys 19-and-under division at the Senior Cager basketball tournament in Yellowknife from Feb. 22 to 24. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

Three teams from Fort Simpson competed in the Senior Cager basketball tournament in Yellowknife from Feb. 22 to 24. The senior Wolfpack team finished in third in the U19 division while the junior team and the female team both finished fourth in their respective divisions.

Finishing in third was not a good end to the season for the senior Wolfpack, said coach Neil Barry.

"We were a stronger team than we played," he said.

The team had a promising start to the season winning tournaments in Fort Nelson and La Crete before finishing third in their hometown tournament earlier this month.

In Yellowknife, the Wolfpack got off to a slow start losing 67-55 to Yellowknife's Sir John Franklin and 56-48 to Inuvik on Friday.

The team had its first win on Saturday finishing defeating Yellowknife's St. Pats 59-30. Brandon Yatsallie was the top scorer in that game with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

In the quarter finals, the Wolfpack won in a close game against Ecole Allain St. Cyr. The Yellowknife school was up 37-33 at half time, but the Wolfpack battled back to win 78-74. It was a big game for Laurent Isaiah who got 42 points and 20 rebounds.

The team fared worse in the semi-final where it met up with Sir John again.

"They had full court pressure on us from the beginning and we didn't handle it well," Barry said.

The Wolfpack lost by approximately 24 points and played for bronze against Inuvik, which it won 52-40.

The junior Wolfpack team had a more successful tournament in the U15 division, particularly considering that most of the players were at the Cager for the first time and the team only had one sub, Barry said.

The junior team won an exhibition game against Hay River 54-28 to start before losing 47-42 to St. Pats White and 75-53 to Sir John Gold, both Yellowknife teams. The Wolfpack tallied its next win against Hay River 51-44 before losing against Sir John Gold in the semi-final 60-47.

In the bronze medal game, the Wolfpack suffered a heartbreaking 36-35 loss and missed third place by one point. One of the players sprained his ankle and was unable to play half of the game, leaving the team with no subs.

'They were sore, they were exhausted but they kept playing," Barry said.

With more players the team could have done better, said Tristen Thurber-Tsetso, 15, who played post. Both Thurber-Tsetso and Tyler Lafferty, 14, who played point guard and shooting guard, agreed that the Wolfpack's exhibition game against Hay River was their best of the tournament.

"All our players did really well in that game," Thurber-Tsetso said.

The female Wolfpack team played as well as they could, said coach Kristen Morrison.

For some players it was their first year in the sport and many had never been to Cager before. The team also battled through some injuries at the competition.

The female Wolfpack had some close games but no wins against the three other teams in their division.

This was the last basketball game of their high school career for nine players including Jennifer Gast, Heather Atkins-Desjarlais, Laurent Isaiah, Logan McKay, Nick Wrigley, Garret Yatsallie, Brandon Yatsallie, Steven Thompson and Sam Kodakin. Morrison said she hopes the players will remember the highlights of their last season.

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