North Dakota Preview: Bismarck

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Bismarck Demons were one of the better teams in the WDA last season, winning 15 games in the regular season and another game in the postseason before losing out in the WDA Tournament. The Demons were one of the elite defensive teams in the state again, but offensive struggles plagued them at times. With a strong core returning, the Demons should be one of the top teams in Class A again this winter. </span> <strong>Go-To Girl: [player_tooltip player_id="98646" first="Jilee" last="Golus"]</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Golus led the Demons in scoring as a junior, averaging 15 points per game while being one of the only players on the team with more points than shot attempts. She’s a long, athletic guard who can shoot it from 3-point range or get to the paint and finish. She was also the team’s second-leading rebounder and a solid playmaker. If she can take a step forward from an efficiency standpoint, she’s got Player-of-the-Year potential.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Breakout Candidate: Peyton Neumiller</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Neumiller saw rotation minutes as a freshman, averaging 5.4 points and four rebounds per game. She could come close to doubling those numbers as a sophomore, as she’s got the size and skill to be a two-way impact player for the Demons. She shot the ball well from 2-point range, but had a rough time connecting from distance and at the free throw line. A year of experience should help when it comes to making an improvement in both those areas. On a team that needs more offensive punch, she’ll have a lot of opportunity to provide it.</span> <strong>Question: How Much Better Offensively Can the Demons Get?</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bismark won 16 games and had a shot to get to the state tournament last year. That was almost entirely due to an elite level defense overcoming a subpar offense. The Demons shot 25 percent from the 3-point line, less than 34 percent from the field and 150 less free throws than the opposition last season. They averaged 18 turnovers per game and recorded more turnovers than assists by a significant margin. Expecting the Demons to suddenly become a high-powered offense is unrealistic. But can they be decent? It’s safe to assume they’ll be strong defensively. Can the offense take a jump? </span> <strong>Outlook: </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bismarck will head into this season ranked around the No. 5 spot in the Class A polls. The Demons have solid returning talent headlined by Golus along with Peyton Gerving, [player_tooltip player_id="98661" first="Mandie" last="Picard"], [player_tooltip player_id="196289" first="Sydney" last="Gerving"] and Miyah Holzwarth and a strong history of success. You know they’ll defend at a high level. They’ll be in just about every game even on nights where they can’t score. If the offense improves a little bit, this team can contend in the WDA.</span>