There’s a slight feeling of deja vu hanging over the Warren Central Lady Vikes.

One year after they made a surprising run to the North State satellite game with a roster full of unproven role players, they once again have a similar collection of talent and the same questions surrounding the team.

Gone is leading scorer Ricille Davis and point guard DeDe Eatmon. In are a host of players who saw plenty of playing time in the 2009-10 season, but are being called upon to step into bigger roles for the first time.

“We have a lot of role players. We don’t have that one stud muffin like Ricille. On any given night, maybe one of the five will be on,” WC coach Jackie Martin said. “I’ve got a good hustling group. The fact they’ll play hard and not give up is encouraging.”

The Lady Vikes are experienced. Four senior starters return from a team that went 17-10 before losing to eventual Class 6A champion Horn Lake in the satellite game.

Most of those starters had one or two games where they shined, but for the most part deferred to Davis. The Gulf Coast Community College signee averaged 15.6 points and 8 rebounds per game and was the Lady Vikes’ go-to player in crunch time.

Finding someone willing — and able — to step into that role might be WC’s biggest challenge.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a bad thing, but it is going to be hard. When we need a person to score, we’ll have to find somebody to step up,” senior guard Michelle Jones said.

Jones is one of the candidates Martin mentioned as having the potential to make the leap. Jones suffered a knee injury that ended her junior season early, but still has the athletic skill necessary to play several different roles.

“She had the knee surgery, but she still has good leaping ability and can get offensive rebounds and putbacks,” Martin said. “I’m looking to Sh’Qulla (Neal) and Michelle to pick up the slack with scoring.”

The other hole in the Lady Vikes’ game is at point guard, where Eatmon provided a steady presence and a sharp shooting touch from 3-point range.

Kiera Ross, the backup last season, will slide into the starting role. Martin said she’d like the Lady Vikes to play an up-tempo style on offense, however, which will test how much Ross has improved.

As the season progresses, and the Lady Vikes settle into their new roles, the team figures to get better. Add a couple of division opponents who took similar hits through graduation, and Warren Central has a chance to escape the division tournament once again.

That, Martin said, is the team’s ultimate goal.

“I always tell them, ‘It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish,’” Martin said. “Even if we start out sluggish it’s not a big deal. We’ve all got to play in that district tournament.”