The task ahead might seem like a daunting one.

Replacing four senior starters, including 1,000-point scorer Meagan Eripret in the middle, is what lies ahead for Salisbury after a successful run in the winter. Many other pivotal pieces in their league and district postseason runs are no longer with the team.

Answers to their questions could come in the offseason summer months. And after weeks of play in the Catasauqua Summer League (one in which Salisbury went 7-5), the Falcons' appearance in the Stellar Construction "Catch A Rising Star" Basketball Showcase exposed them to even more competition.

Sure, head coach Joe Mladosich would have liked to play a few more games than the Falcons' two contests. But while their run ended early on Saturday, and the Falcons have had limited time together in the summer, there were some positives to shed light on.

"We don't practice in the summer, so it's drastically different," Mladosich said. "A lot of bigger schools practice and have so many kids. We don't have a lot of kids, and it's hard to get kids in the open gyms. We're just racing and diagraming things on the sideline to run. It's not easy, but they did a good job."

The Falcons' run ended against Whitehall (36-34 in overtime), a team that advanced all the way to the championship game before falling to Parkland, 33-14. While it counted as a loss at the end of the day, it was a one-basket game against one of the better Eastern Pennsylvania Conference teams.

"They [Whitehall] beat Northwestern the other night," Mladosich said. "I saw them play, [and] they're not bad. They're not big, but they're athletic."

A steady force across the Falcons' two-game splash at Stellar was incoming-senior Lindsay Bauer. The lone returning starter from the winter, Bauer finished with a game-high 29 points against Whitehall to keep the Falcons within striking distance until the final whistle.

In fact, the Falcons led by as many as 10 points in the second half at 23-13 before the Zephyrs ended regulation on a 16-6 spurt. Kelly Gardus' three-pointer in the final seconds brought the Falcons to within a point after Whitehall opened the overtime period on a 6-2 run.

Against Parkland's JV squad on Friday, Bauer once again carried the scoring load with 24 of the team's points in the Falcons' 43-35 loss. The Falcons had a lead against the Trojans as well (19-11 in the first half) before a dry spell halted momentum in the final 20 minutes.

"She [Bauer] played every summer league game," Mladosich said. "She hasn't missed anything. Her effort is tremendous. She's not very vocal, but she leads by example. She's a really hard worker and a delight to coach."

No matter how much Bauer is able to score, Mladosich understands that a number of other girls will have to step up in that regard. Sydney Utesch, Caylin Meikrantz and Kristen Bucchin are going to be relied upon after seeing varsity minutes last year.

"Meikrantz is a good shooter," Mladosich said. "We have to get a few points inside, no matter what we have to."

Mladosich is also hoping the group of underclassmen, which includes Alicia Burkhardt, Kelly Gardus and Paige Nicholas, brings an added boost to the team.

"We'll have to get some help from some of the sophomores next year," Mladisoch said. "We'll play drastically different. We have to."