COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cardinals start anew in NWAC

New league, and a bunch of new faces.

Then again, at a two-year school, chances are this will happen from time to time.

When Chris Carlson opens his 13th season as women’s basketball coach at North Idaho College tonight in Mesa, Ariz., he’ll return one sophomore that was on the roster last season, and another that has transferred home, and nine freshmen.

“I think we’ve got a nice balance and depth at every position,” said Carlson, whose team will play at Mesa (Ariz.) College tonight at 5:30 p.m. “We’ve got depth at each position, and it’s a very balanced group of girls. We’re two deep at every spot and we feel like they can all go out and produce.”

This will be the first year for NIC, which finished 21-9 last season, in the Northwest Athletic Conference after moving from the NJCAA Scenic West Athletic Conference at the end of the 2015-16 season.

“I just like the idea of having shorter road trips,” said Carlson, who coached in the NWAC at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake from 1992 to 2000. “It will be less stress and the regional rivalries will be a lot of fun.”

NIC will compete in the nine-team East Region of the NWAC, playing home-and-home games against Big Bend, Blue Mountain, Columbia Basin, Spokane, Treasure Valley, Walla Walla, Wenatchee Valley and Yakima Valley.

“It’s going to be a little more balanced of a league,” Carlson said. “It should be competitive from top to bottom.”

Sophomore Charity Marlatt, a 6-foot-1 center from Cranbrook, British Columbia, is the lone returner from last year’s team. Shayna Allert, the former Post Falls High standout, has transferred after playing her freshman year at Walla Walla Community College.

“Charity’s a big, strong kid and can get on a roll and score at times,” Carlson said. “She can defend, rebound and just does a lot of nice things. She’ll be one of the top kids in the league for sure.”

Allert, a 5-7 guard, has been dealing with an injury early on.

“We expect her to be a tough kid for us,” Carlson said. “She just knows how to get stuff done on the court.”

Carlson was expecting Jocelyn Cook-Cox — who played soccer for NIC in the fall — to return, but she opted to pursue Division I opportunities in soccer instead.

“She had a great soccer season and started to get some offers,” Carlson said of Cook-Cox. “She’s got some visits to make, so it’s all good.”

Carlson expects 5-9 freshman Cierra Dvorak from Lake City to step in at point guard, with 5-6 guard Shae Logozzo from Chiawana of Pasco, Wash., to step in at shooting guard.

“Cierra has really come in ready to go,” Carlson said. “She played fantastic in scrimmages against some of the four-year schools (Trinity Western, Idaho, Lethbridge). Shae has been a really strong and steady player.”

At forward, Carlson expects Lana Berg (5-10, from Bigfork, Mont.) and Shanna Floerchinger (5-11, from Helena, Mont.) to start.

“Both have a scorer’s mentality,” Carlson said. “And they competed against those four-year schools really well.”

Carlson also expects former Lake City High standout Whitney Meier, a 5-5 guard, to see minutes this season.

“She’s had a couple of injuries so far,” Carlson said. “But she’ll be a real presence from the outside and will be one of our team leaders.”

NIC does not have a SWAC team on its schedule this season, and will face NJCAA Division I Cochise on Saturday and Chandler Gilbert on Sunday to wrap up the Mesa tournament.

“Cochise is a very competitive program,” Carlson said. “That’s going to be a tough one. Mesa is a Division II team, but has been in the Top 20, so that’s two really good teams right away.”

NIC will play its home opener on Nov. 26 against the North Idaho All-Stars.

NIC will also compete in tournaments at Bellevue Community College on Dec. 2-4 as well as the Lower Columbia Holiday Classic in Longview, Wash., Dec. 28-30.

“Both the Bellevue and Lower Columbia tournaments are real tournaments with a championship game,” Carlson said. “It gives that postseason feel and we’ll get a chance to play against some of the best schools in the league and see where we’re at.”

They’ll return from the holiday break to league play, hosting Yakima Valley on Jan. 7.