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Heading into her second season as head coach of the Noxon Lady Red Devil basketball team, Cortney Vohs could have been excused for thinking this could have been a breakout season for her still-young but very talented Devils.

The problem is, the Lady Devils are currently suffering from a few maladies that have forced Vohs and company to refocus their efforts in practice so far.

To start with, Avery Burgess, now a sophomore and a returning second team District 14C all-conference pick, is nursing a shoulder injury and is unavailable to play as of yet. Another starter from last year is suffering COVID-19 related illness, recovering slowly from a bout with the disease several weeks ago.

Which leaves senior Chelsea Vohs, an honorable mention all-conference selection, junior Vanessa Horner and Emily Brown, who enjoyed a fine freshman campaign last season, as Noxon's team leaders heading into season play, which begins with season-opening non-conference action at Troy January 8.

Juniors Riley Richter and Jaedyn Murray and freshman Mia Vogel, who saw some varsity minutes as an eighth grader last year, will also be in the mix.

"Riley worked on her game over the off-season, and all the girls should be better this year with another season under their belts," coach Vohs said, adding that a couple of first-year senior players may also find their ways into the lineup at times.

Vohs likes her team's versatility. "What's nice is that these girls can all fill in at different positions," she said. "They are all pretty athletic and we should be able to move some players around to see where they fit in best."

Although Charlo is heavily favored to win yet another 14C crown later on, Vohs sees the district being fairly even behind the powerful Lady Vikings.

"The other teams are all pretty young, we are all about the same age player-wise," she said. "Our big thing is we want to continue to improve and get all five of our best players healthy at the same time."