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WEST FARGO — If the West Fargo women’s basketball team lost by two points to Fargo Davis on Tuesday night means anything, it means that the Eastern Dakota Conference is looking to put up another strong showing this season.

The Packers are well aware of that fact, and despite bringing back a lot of talent from last season, the team knows that no game will be easy.

“We’re just taking one game at a time and trying to improve every day,” said West Fargo head coach Mike Benson.

011223.s.ff.WF.GBB — A West Fargo Packers team member reacts to a big second-half basket during a game against Fargo Davis at the Eagles’ gym on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

The team lost just four seniors in the offseason and returned five experienced starting members. Perhaps there was no more experienced player than All-EDC and All-State selection Chloe He Fow and Millie Simon.

Pfau is in his fifth season as a starter and Simon in his fourth. Brillie Peterson is in her third season as a starter, while Solveig Seymour and Taylor Van Winkle are in their second as starters, Benson said.

Simon is a senior forward who led the EDC in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 22.5 points and 11.9 boards per game. With the Packers off to his 7-2 start, the North Dakota State recruit said the season is going well so far.

“I think we’re playing good team basketball right now,” Simon said. “We have a lot of players making shots for us now, so that’s good for us.”

Personally, Simon is off season and averaging 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He recorded five double-doubles in nine games.

030222.S.FF. Shanley WFGBB — West Fargo’s Millie Simon grabs a pass against Fargo Shanley’s Emily Suleima during the EDC Girls’ High School Basketball Tournament at West Fargo High School on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.

Simon isn’t the only one contributing. Committed to UMary, he averages 14.3 points for Pfau, 10.7 points for Peterson and 10.4 points for Seymour.

“I think we improved a lot in the offseason,” Simon said. “Some players are scoring in double figures, which really helps in these games.”

Pfau is in his senior season as a guard and has the highest field goal percentage in the conference at 56.4%. Junior guard Peterson is shooting 51.6% and averaging 3.8 assists per game. Senior guard Van Winkle is averaging 7.4 assists per game, which makes him leading the EDC, while fellow senior guard Seymour said he averaged 3.2 triples per game, the best range in the state. and continues to be

011123.s.ff.WF.Davies.GBB — West Fargo’s Chloe Pau shoots Fargo Davis’ Fallon Pasanante at the Eagles’ gym on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

Combine those stats with contributions up and down the bench, and the Packers currently have the best scoring offense in the Eastern region.

“I’ve seen a lot of my teammates step up and it’s great to see that,” Pfau said. “Especially Taylor. It’s really great to see how hard she’s been working and starting to see success, and it makes it more fun to play.”

Benson is pleased with the improvements seen in each player from last season to next, and is even happier with a healthy team this time around. Missed a good amount of time.

“We have more players who can steal the ball now, but that’s something we struggled with a little bit last year,” Benson said. “Taylor missed five games last year with an injury, so three weeks was a big part of the season, so we were a little distraught over it. He was our third-most scorer, so things like that show where the scores came from and where we were.

“We have four women averaging nearly double digits this year, and Taylor is averaging just under nine points per game. has really stepped up her game again this year.”

Benson also said the team benefits from the luxury of having leaders like Pfau and Simon and long-range scoring threats like Seymour.

“When you see them as good as two players (Pfau and Simon), you wonder what they can keep improving,” Benson said. “What Chloe lacked in particular last year, besides her ability on the floor, was her leadership. Chloe is getting back to where she was last year as an Allstate player and is the ultimate teammate, she makes everyone better.

“Solveig, her nickname is ‘The Gunslinger.’ She could be one of the best shooters that ever played for West Fargo, and probably the best 3-point shooter I’ve ever coached. Even when she’s not shooting, she clears the floor for others to play.”

West Fargo hoped to return to the Class A state tournament for the first time since 2016 after finishing fourth in the EDC standings last season with a 17-7 record.

Unfortunately for the Packers, it wasn’t what it was meant to be.After losing to Davis in the EDC tournament semifinals, West Fargo lost a heartbreaker to Warpeton in the state qualifier game the next day.

“We definitely think about it every day,” Simon said. “It gives us motivation and we are definitely ready to do it this year.”

“That wasn’t how we wanted the season to end,” Pfau added. It is that

The team’s only two losses this year are at the hands of the defending state champions and Rank 4 Minots earlier this week, and a strong-looking Rank 5 Eagles team. The Packers will face second-ranked and undefeated Grand Forks Red River on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

“That Red River game is two points,” Benson said. “Whoever wins that could be very well positioned for the 1st seed[in an EDC tournament]and getting the 1st seed is a lot easier than getting the 2nd or 3rd place. .seed.”