Loralyn Murdoch's talent search continued on the weekend.
Murdoch, head coach of the UNBC Northern Timberwolves women's basketball team, had a look at Natasha Tyzler-Williams, a five-foot-10 forward from Toronto who is graduating from the high school ranks and looking for a place to play next season. Tyzler-Williams, 18, practiced with members of the Timberwolves Thursday through Saturday at the Northern Sport Centre and showed tremendous potential. Murdoch is now considering her as a player who can make valuable contributions in the future.
"If I'm going to compare her to anyone, it's going to be Emily Kaehn," said Murdoch, in reference to the veteran UNBC forward who is known for her physical play and finishing skills under the hoop. "I need a first-year Emily Kaehn who can play behind her for two years and replace her eventually when she graduates. And that's a tough, tough role to fill. Size-wise, Natasha's a little bit bigger than Emily. Skill-wise, she's got a long way to go but the good news is we've got two years to get her there.
"It's going to be a matter of if she has the desire to work behind somebody and do what it's going to take individually to get a roster spot and to compete for [playing time] down the road."
Tyzler-Williams helped her high school team, St. Joseph's College, to a 34-4 record this season. She is also a member of the Etobicoke Storm, a rep club that competes in a Greater Toronto and provincial league.
Tyzler-Williams is a natural athlete. She has also played softball, volleyball and soccer and has competed in track and field and cross-country running. During her short stay at UNBC, she improved dramatically with each court session. She said she's "a diamond in the rough" and knows she needs to polish certain parts of her game.
"I definitely prefer defence over offence," she said. "As a child, I was always taught that in any sport, defence wins championships and offence wins games. But I know that defence leads into offence and that's something I have to work on as a player -- to correct my offence to become the best offensive player that I can be."
Tyzler-Williams said she'd love to suit up for the T-wolves as they move into the Canada West conference of Canadian Interuniversity Sport next season.
"I like [the] UNBC [team] because it's similar to my high school team," she said. "I've noticed it's like a family. Even just the [Prince George] community is very close and tight-knit and everyone knows everyone, which is hard to find in Toronto."
