A new style of competition is on deck for the women's basketball team at the University of Northern British Columbia.
The under-18 women's national team from Japan is in Prince George to play the Timberwolves for two games, tonight and Wednesday at 7 p.m., at the Northern Sport Centre, which has UNBC head coach Loralyn Murdoch excited at the prospective of seeing how her team matches up against some of Japan's top athletes.
"It's hard to know what to expect," said Murdoch. "I expect that they're going to be talented and young, probably very fast. It's typical of the Japanese that they move the ball very well and are very fast.
"It'll be high competition because these are the best under-18 kids in the country," she added.
The T-wolves began preparing for the Japanese team Dec. 28 when they returned to school after Christmas break. Murdoch may not know exactly what the current crop of Japanese players are like, but she was able to give the T-wolves firsthand knowledge about their guests style.
During her stint at the national coaching institute with Ken Fields, Murdoch spent 10 days in Japan as part of her training with the women's national team.
"I got to watch the high school teams as well as work with the professional teams," said Murdoch. "It was quite an experience and a real eye-opener in how they train over there."
The high school teams in Japan train for about three hours every night with about 25 players, she said, adding discipline is a huge part of the Japanese game.
The Japanese team landed in Canada on New Year's Eve and faced the University of Victoria Vikes in an exhibition game on New Year's Day and were at Camosun College on Monday for a game.
The T-wolves coach isn't the only one with a personal connection to Japan, fifth-year post Erin Beckett spent time in the country as an exchange student when she was in high school.
"She's looking forward to hosting the Japanese here in her country," said Murdoch. "We don't have a lot of opportunity to do things with them, but we are going to plan an activity to show them Prince George and the north."
Between games the T-wolves plan to take their guests for a sleigh ride at Noah's Ark.
