FRUITPORT – The Fruitport girls basketball team knows that life can be good outside of the tough O-K Blue conference.

Last season the Trojans got off to a great 5-1 start, but then experienced a painful 16-game losing streak when conference play began.

The success returned, however, when the Trojans played in the local Division 2 district tournament against non-conference opponents.

They beat Orchard View by 16 points in the first round, and Montague by 11 points in the semifinals, before falling to Spring Lake – an O-K Blue team – in the championship game.

Now the Trojans are liberated, because Fruitport has been switched to the O-K Silver conference, where the competition will still be challenging, but not nearly as brutal as it was in the Blue.

As third-year head coach Brian Packard puts it, “It will help not being in the hardest girls basketball conference in the state.”

The final two victories in districts last year reminded the Trojans that they can win, and provided some energy heading into this season, according to the coach.

“It kind of got the momentum swinging a little bit for offseason workouts,” said Packard, whose team will open the 2024-25 season on Friday night at Montague. “We got a taste of success at the end of the season, and it was nice to get that.”

That doesn’t mean the team will not have some challenges this season.

One issue is the lack of overall experience, because the Trojans only return one starter from last season. On the bright side, they do have five seniors back, and several players who saw significant court time last year.

Now it’s just a matter of sorting through the roster and learning what role each girl should play, according to Packard.

“Going into last year we kind of knew who we were,” Packard said. “This year it’s a lot different. We’re not as sure about what our team looks like. The first couple of games will be interesting, to see who we are and what we’re good at.

“We still have a good base. The girls work hard, pay attention and are detail-oriented. We can build pretty quickly with attitudes like that.”

Perhaps the top returner is a sophomore – shooting guard Izabel Hanson-Wilbur – who started and made strong contributions as a freshman last season.

“She’s probably the fastest girl in West Michigan,” Packard said. “She has a high motor and wants to compete every game. She will go until she can’t go any more.

“She can get to the hoop and finish. She can also shoot and handle the ball. She’s better than average in a lot of different things. Her athleticism propels her over the top.”

The Trojans will also rely a lot on senior guard Kenzie Pate, who ended up surprising a lot of people with how well she played last season.

“She’s a shooter who kind of came out of nowhere last year,” Packard said about Pate. “We just tell her, if she’s open she should shoot the ball. We’re pretty pumped about her progress.”

Another key returnee is senior point guard McKenzie Beardsley, who played quite a bit last season before being injured.

“We are working to strengthen her ankles and her body in general,” Packard said about Beardsley. “She will handle the ball for us and be our court general. She also shoots well from the perimeter. She will be a good piece for us.”

Senior power forward Lainey Bol will also play a big role.

“She’s a utility player and one of our leaders,” the coach said. “She’s not really great at one thing, but solid at a bunch of things, which is nice.”

Junior post player Ava Powell split time between the junior varsity and varsity teams last season, and will be a key addition as a full-time varsity player this winter.

“She’s 5-8, so she’s not super tall, but she’s going to be a big post presence,” Packard said. “She’s one of the strongest girls I have seen in awhile. She puts her head down and goes and people get out of the way. She gets in the post and has some decent moves, and she can also shoot from the perimeter a little bit.”

The rest of the roster is comprised of seniors Emma Woycehoski and Izabel Heckroth, juniors Tatum Anderson, Giselle Burbridge and Kendall Lee, and sophomores Lily Johnson, Alexa Sweet, Kalli Tawney and Kya Tawney.

With so many different girls playing new roles, and so many new conference opponents on the schedule, it’s hard to say at this point just how successful the Trojans will be – but Packard has a good feeling about the overall trajectory of the team.

“I think maybe we will have a higher ceiling than we had last year,” he said. “I think we will be way more competitive overall. As long as we stay healthy and keep the ball moving in the right direction, I think we will be okay.”