It's no secret who will be the leader of the Salisbury girls' basketball team when the Falcons open their season on Friday night.

Junior Meagan Eripret, who averaged a team-high 18.1 points per game last season, will be the Falcons' focal point throughout the season. She, along with graduate Megan Hrebik, were Colonial League First-Team All-Stars last year and helped the Falcons to a 9-7 mark in the conference and a district playoff appearance.

Along with Hrebik, Ali Greenholt also graduated for the Falcons. Junior Kaitlyn Toman played and started for the Falcons last season, but is concentrating on track and field during the winter season.

"You always want to have your starters back, but we're going to go with what we have," head coach Joe Mladosich said. "We're not worried about what we don't have. We'll worry about what we have. There are a lot of kids that have done a good job."

Eripret has continued to improve on the court, particularly over the summer months. She, along with senior Kelly Garrigan, will provide experience in the Falcons' frontcourt once again.

Eripret is entering her third season as a starter, while Garrigan has also cracked the starting lineup for the past three seasons. Junior Holly Szita saw action for the Falcons last season and will have an impact once again.

"She played a lot of AAU basketball all summer," Mladosich said of Eripret. "She's getting better, and she works really hard. She's very coachable, and she does a great job."

While the frontcourt will be solid on both ends of the court, the play at the guard position will be the deciding factor on how far this team can go.

"It's going to be hard for her [Eripret] if we don't get any scoring from other kids on our team," Mladosich said. "If our guards don't score, they'll double and triple-team [Eripret]."

Without one of the Colonial League's top players from last year in Hrebik, who averaged 16 points per game and leaves a void at the point guard position, Mladosich understands the task of replacing a player of that caliber. He understands one player alone won't be able to accomplish that task.

Sophomore Lindsay Bauer figures to have a larger role at point guard, taking over for Hrebik. Senior Amanda Rowlands and junior Kelly Gonoude will also be critical in the backcourt.

"She [Hrebik] wasn't just a 1,000-point scorer, but she was our point guard as well," Mladosich said. "We have to fill both of those voids, and we'll do it by committee. We have some young kids."

The Falcons finished with the fifth-best mark in the Colonial League last season, one spot out of a league tournament appearance. They've also made it to consecutive district tournaments, but have failed to get past their quarterfinal matchup.

Mladosich and the Falcons are not only looking to make it back to district competition, but will look to take that next step forward in 2014.

"I would be very disappointed if we didn't get back to the district tournament," Mladosich said. "We hope to build on that and not to go backwards. I think we'll be fine. I remain very optimistic."

The Falcons, who have had a number of scrimmages in preparation for their season opener, will travel to Dieruff on Friday night for the 2013-14 season opener. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Falcons will begin Colonial League play when they host Palisades on Tuesday night.