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FAIRMONT - Don Waletich returns to the Fairmont girls basketball helm with a number of new items at his disposal during the 2009-10 campaign.

After 27 years of playing on a Tartan surface, the Cardinals will play their home games at Fairmont High School on one of southern Minnesota's finest hardwood courts in front of spectators sitting on stylish newly-installed red-and-white bleachers.

But the latest updates do not stop there as Waletich's cagers will don new uniforms when Fairmont tips off the season at 6 p.m. tonight against Randolph in the newly-added Southland of Adams tournament.

Ironically, the second-year mentor also will open the season with another new twist - no Ashley Alleven or Sam Waletich in the starting lineup.

While the program's No. 1 and 2 all-time leading scorers exited via graduation, Don Waletich does return three starters and three valuable reserves from last season's South Central Conference championship roster.

"In all reality, our lineup has a fair amount of varsity experience coming back this season," said Waletich. "This group has good chemistry on the floor and will battle every game. They had a successful summer league at Bethany and look to carry that over into the regular season."

Senior wing Alyssa Niss, junior forward Kirsten True and senior guard Ariel Berhow will likely return to the starting lineup after helping guide the Cardinals to a perfect 10-0 record in the conference and a 22-2 overall mark.

The 5-foot-9 Niss netted the highest returning scoring average of 10.5 points per game a year ago, while the 5-10 True and 5-9 Berhow follow in the scoring column at respective clips of 8.4 and 8.0 points.

Niss and True also garnered 3.6 and 3.5 rebounds per outing, while the duo combined with Berhow for a staggering 138 steals in 2008-09.

Senior forward Jami Riley and senior guard Mary Hitchcock will serve with Niss and Berhow as this campaign's co-captains after serving as the hard-pressing Cardinals' defensive catalysts off the bench last season.

"We'll still play hard man defense this year, but we'll probably rely more on our outside shooting than in the past," said Waletich. "We'll also continue to push the ball, so that will stay the same."

Senior Sam Smith, a 5-11 jumping jack, and Riley will "be in the starting mix depending on matchups," according to Waletich, while Hitchcock will likely start in the Cardinals' backcourt to open the schedule.

Sophomore Shannon Christianson, a 5-10 center, and 6-1 senior Melissa Lubenow will contend for time in the low post, while the junior trio of Shelby Moeller, Courtney Eversman and Carolyn Halverson will vie for time in the backcourt.

Unfortunately for Waletich, 5-8 junior speedster Lisa Behrens recently had surgery on her ankle and likely be out until some time in January.

So, with a skilled lineup returning to the floor, how does Waletich think the Cardinals stack up against league opponents this season?

"I believe the conference is going to be very good since every team has almost everybody back from a year ago," said Waletich. "With our SCC schedule being that competitive, it should help us come playoff time."

The Fairmont mentor sees Blue Earth Area - a 2009 Class AA state tournament qualifier - and Waseca as two of the top contenders, along with his Cardinals and a much-improved St. Peter roster.

"I really don't see anybody going 10-0 in the conference this season. That's how tough it's going to be," said Waletich.

Section 3AA also did not get any easier as the South Sub-Section added Murray County Central to this year's postseason tournament mix.

"We play in one of the best sub-sections in the state, and it got even better with the addition of Murray County Central. They have Emily Bose, who's a 2,000-point career scorer headed to play at Augie (Augustana College) next season," said Waletich.

So, what's the second-year head coach's seasonal outlook?

"As usual, our expectations are high. We expect to battle for the SCC, and we have the talent to contend in every game we play," said Waletich.