Nunavut women’s basketball squad falls to Yukon in opening match

Updated March 10 at 4:10 p.m. ET

The Nunavut under-19 women’s basketball team put up a good but friendly fight in its opening match at the Arctic Winter Games on Monday, losing to the host Yukon squad 76-21.

Team Nunavut basketball coach Olivia Tapatai, in the middle, talks to her athletes during a break in the games on Monday evening. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

“I still think we did pretty good,” said Eleanore Aupaluktuq, 18, from Baker Lake. “It’s only our first game. First games always go like this.”

The game, played at the Porter Creek Secondary School gym, was the first time the Nunavut team — made up of athletes from Cambridge Bay, Baker Lake and Iqaluit — was able to compete together.

Playing with some of her teammates for the first time wasn’t too challenging but it was hard to “read” their game sometimes because of the unfamiliarity, Aupaluktuq said.

The team did really well despite the lack of in-person practice time, said coach Olivia Tapatai, adding she’s proud of them.

“They are still connected on social media,” said Tapatai.

“I always tell the girls on the bench to pump them up. And they were, they were cheering the whole time.”

And the cheers were needed, because there were at least three times as many local Yukon fans in the stands as there were Nunavut supporters.

Despite the rivalry on the court, the competition between Nunavut and Yukon was friendly.

In their short time together since the Games opened on Sunday, athletes from all eight competing circumpolar regions have become friends, Tapatai said. For instance, when Nunavut player Ava Ellesworth fell during the third quarter, it was Yukon players who helped her up.

“Off the court, it’s very friendly. On the court, it’s business,” Tapatai said.

In their second tournament game Tuesday morning, the Nunavut women’s team lost 75-36 playing against the Northwest Territories. Their next game is Wednesday against Alberta North, which sports a perfect 2-0 record, starting at 11 a.m. MT (2 p.m. ET).

On the basketball under-19 men’s side, Nunavut lost its opening match Monday, falling 73-64 against Alaska. On Tuesday afternoon, the team fell 107-85 to Yukon. The men’s third game is Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT (10 p.m. ET).

The Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse opened Sunday and run until Saturday. They brought together approximately 2,000 athletes from eight circumpolar regions Nunavut, Nunavik, Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, northern Alberta, Greenland and the Sápmi region of Scandinavia.

Note: This story was updated to include the score of the men’s afternoon game Tuesday.

Nunavut fans on the stands cheer on Team Nunavut’s under-19 basketball team Monday, despite being outnumbered by host Yukon fans. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)