Tourney experience could be asset for local hoopsters

The victories weren’t pouring down around them, but a local hoops crew is banking on their lessons for rainy days ahead.
The Muskies’ girls regional under-17 team finished second with a 1-3 mark at an invitational basketball tournament at Fort High last weekend involving the Kenora Saints and Thunder Bay Wolves.
But the score wasn’t near as important to Muskie co-coach Mike Busch as was the opportunity to test his squad against more experienced players in preparation for the Manitoba junior championships May 2-4 in Portage La Prairie.
“What we wanted to get out of this tournament was to find out the things we really need to work on,” said Busch. “It was good competition. We’re always after that.”
One of the areas of upgrading that became apparent by the tournament’s end was the Muskies’ transition defence, which found itself one step behind Kenora in a 42-36 loss to the Saints in their final game.
“I don’t think conditioning was a factor,” ventured Busch when addressing the possibility that four games over two days may have wore down the Muskies.
“It was a lot of mental errors on our part.”
Offensively, Busch pointed to a need for more strength on his team’s part when handling the ball—along with better rebounding on both ends of the floor.
“We have to get a little hungrier for loose balls,” he remarked. “Then when we had the chance, we were missing easy shots underneath.”
The Muskies led 11-5 before the fast-break offence of the Saints brought them back, capped off by a wide open lay-up just before the halftime buzzer for a 19-17 Kenora lead.
The Saints scored the first five points of the second half to go up 24-17 before a 9-1 stretch put the locals up by one.
Then with Kenora leading 31-30, the Saints connected for six-straight points to re-establish their seven-point advantage. Turnovers and poor shot selection plagued the Muskies the rest of the way as their comeback attempts were thwarted.
Erin Carter collected 12 points for Kenora while Laura Busch had a dozen to lead the Muskies.
Both visiting teams were older on average, as the Ontario junior championships will involve under-18 teams, while the Muskies are bound for the Manitoba championship, which is an under-17 affair.
The fact of the age differential, plus the absence of some key players, has Busch thinking optimistically about Portage La Prairie.
“Right through the tournament, all our players came through equally well,” said Busch, who was without forwards Carley McCormick (personal commitments) and Jodi Caul (out indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome) here last weekend.
“Once we get Carley back, we’ll be all right.”
Busch was comforted with the return of forward Ashley Whalen, who was deemed healthy enough to play after combatting post-concussion syndrome of her own, which was suffered early this past season as a member of the Muskie girls’ hockey team.
The mood was upbeat on the Muskies’ bench after a 54-43 win by the local side over Kenora in Friday afternoon’s tourney-opener.
Fort Frances led 28-26 at halftime, but both squads came out ice cold in the second half, with Kenora sinking only two field goals in the first 10 minutes.
That allowed the Muskies to build a 43-29 lead, but a rash of turnovers on both ends of the court sparked a 14-4 Saints’ run that made it 47-43 with less than three minutes to play.
But the steady hand of Dryden import Brittany Kamm—the lone non-Fort Frances player on the squad—helped guide the home crew down the stretch.
Kamm and Ashlyn Jewell led the Muskies with 10 points apiece while Stephanie “Mouse” Mattson chipped in with seven. Megan Derourard paced the Saints with eight points.
An athletic and experienced Thunder Bay Wolves side took no prisoners in the Muskies’ second outing later Friday, bombing their hosts 41-10.
Fort Frances trailed 21-2 at halftime, with both their points coming on foul shots, and made only four baskets from the field the entire game.
Amy Aldrich, Julie Follis, Mallory Granham and Megan Grant all had six points each for the Wolves while Janelle Williamson led the Muskies with three.
In a Saturday morning rematch, Fort Frances again was blitzed right from the opening tip as Thunder Bay raced out to an 11-2 lead.
The frustration among the Muskies in their inability to withstand the Wolves’ assault reached its peak when the normally-composed Jewell slammed the ball down after being whistled for a travelling call and then again after a Thunder Bay basket.
But after falling behind 36-13 at halftime, the point guard and her fellow Muskies reached down inside to find a furious level of defensive intensity that made life miserable for the Wolves, who played just as hard with a 20-point lead as they did at the outset.
Fort Frances outscored Thunder Bay 16-15 in the second half to gain a huge moral victory despite their 51-29 loss.
Laura Becotte led the Wolves with 13 points, while Sam Potter had eight. Kamm had 10 points for the Muskies, with Melanie Hyatt adding five.