The first big night of the high school girls basketball season is tonight, with six local teams scheduled to begin their seasons.

Coeur d'Alene is home vs. Moscow, Post Falls is home vs. Sandpoint, Timberlake is home vs. Wallace (1-1); Lakeside travels to Kellogg (2-0) and Kootenai visits Coeur d'Alene Charter (0-2), all at 7:30. At 7, St. Maries plays host to the Lake City junior varsity.

Here are brief capsule looks at the local teams opening tonight. They will be profiled further in the annual Press winter sports special section inserted in the Nov. 26 newspaper.

Coeur d'Alene: The Vikings, who were second at state last year in their sixth straight trip to the state title game, return four players who started at various times on last year's 20-6 squad - senior guards Kyeli Parker and Erin Legel, junior guard Caelyn Orlandi and junior forward Kendalynn Brainard.

Brainard, who started as a freshman, missed the first half of last season after suffering a torn ACL in the summer of 2010.

With the graduation of Carli Rosenthal, a four-year starter at center, the Vikings have no true posts on this year's squad.

Others who will be looked to for more production this year include junior forward Sydney Williams and junior guards Sydni Parker, Carli Williams and Madison Sumner.

"We want to try to get up and down the court as fast as we can, and try to make it a full-court game," said Dale Poffenroth, beginning his eighth season as Vikings coach. "We have the kids, we have to use our bench, use our conditioning, and lengthen the floor."

Post Falls: First-year Trojans coach Marc Allert has three starters back from last year's 8-14 squad - guard Brooke Litalien, post Dani Failor and point guard Katy King, all juniors.

Others in the mix for playing time include senior forward Rai Franklin, sophomore guards Lexi Smith and Whitney Gonzales, freshman point guard Kelcie Hedge, senior guard Jessica Waller, and junior guard Mary Hoffman, a transfer from Gonzaga Prep.

Allert, an assistant for the Trojan boys team for years, has twin freshmen daughters in his program.

"I think at some point we're going to be pretty good - I'm just not sure where that point will be," said Allert, who replaces Chris Johnson, who resigned after 17 seasons as coach. "I'm guessing 8-10 games in, we'll know what kind of team we are."

St. Maries: The Lumberjacks, 6-15 last year, return three full-time starters from last year - senior wing/forward Dusti Huddleston, and senior posts Kaytrin Thaut and Kendra Buell.

Huddleston, a three-year starter, averaged 10 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game last year. Senior point guard Jaylee Sines started until she was lost for the season to a knee injury in the fourth game.

Sophomore guards Haylee Waddell and Madison McQueen, and junior post Lakin Anxo, also will be counted on to contribute.

"I think our big problem last year was, we had way too many turnovers," second-year St. Maries coach Jay Sines said. "We averaged close to 30 turnovers a game. If we cut that down in half, I think we'll be competitive."

Timberlake: The Tigers went 20-5 last year and reached the state 3A title game for the first time in the program's history, but graduated three senior starters who accounted for two-thirds of Timberlake's scoring and rebounding.

Kara Wenstrom is a four-year starter at point guard, and senior guard Sydnie Malloy is the other returning starter.

Junior guard Ashly George, senior forward Taylor Mason and junior forward Jenna Hoffman, who came off the bench last year, will be asked to play bigger roles.

Guard/wing Kelly Madsen, who played as a freshman and sophomore, is back for her senior year. Posts Jessica Norlander (sophomore) and Cheyenne Gibson (junior) moved up from the junior varsity near the end of last season. Junior forward Lexi Posch is a transfer from California, and senior Maci Johnson will play in the post.

"Depth in the past was our Achilles heel," seventh-year Tigers coach Matt Miller said. "This year it's our biggest strength."

Kootenai: The Warriors return three starters from last year's 1-16 team -- senior guards Miranda Griggs and Kirsten Scheffelmaier, and senior guard/post Brie Benson. Scheffelmaier had her season cut short last year by a knee injury.

Other varsity returnees include senior guard Kendall Walton and sophomore guard Austin Andersen.

"I really like the way we are working hard on fundamentals, and we are going to surprise some people this year," said Mike LaFountaine, beginning his fifth season as Kootenai's girls coach. "Defense is the key to this season, solid defense and rebounding. We are not going to let teams get second chance shots; we have to own the boards."

Lakeside: The Knights lost just one starter - Joelle Miller, daughter of coach Ron Miller - from last year's 15-6 team that lost to Prairie in a play-in game to the state 1A Division I tournament.

Senior wing Tah-Wy-Ah Davis averaged 10 points per game last season, as did junior post Shannon Miller, also the coach's daughter.

The other returning starters are senior guard Michelle Whaley and sophomore guard Francine Hendrickx.

Other varsity returnees include sophomore forward Avery Brown-Sonder, sophomore guard Kim Duncan and junior guard Brianna Louie.

"What we lack in height, we'll make up for in depth," said Ron Miller, in his 20th year as coach - the eighth season in his second stint. "This team is court-smart, and they pass the ball well."