The Vikings played only 19 regular-season games and finished 0-20 after a 50-28 loss to second-seeded Amanda-Clearcreek in a Division III district game at Pickerington North.

A repeat is not in the plans for this season.

"I'm cautiously optimistic about the season, but we need to get some confidence," said third-year coach Ron Florey, whose team opens Dec. 3 at home against Fredericktown in a MBC game. "When you go 0-20, you put a lot of doubt in a lot of minds, including the coaches, the parents and the kids. If we get some wins early, we can continue to grow from there. If we struggle early, it could be a tough road for us."

Northridge has only 18 players in the program after having 26 last season. The Vikings return two of their top three scorers. Senior Jessica Johnson and Keilah Ketron, a 6-foot-3 post player, both averaged 3.9 points per game. Junior Diedre Wells also had the same average, but moved to Mount Gilead.

"Our practices are much more spirited," Florey said. "I feel we're going to have a better season than last year. We have a much closer-knit group, and they have done a better job of sharing the basketball during scrimmages."

In one of the scrimmages, the Vikings played well against Columbus School for Girls, boosting the team's confidence.

"Our goal is to look forward and not look back," said Johnson, a 5-10 forward who is the only senior in the program. "I think that getting a win under our belts would be great. Sometimes a team has to learn how to win."

The Vikings have six returning letterwinners in Johnson (5.1 rebounds per game), Ketron (5.7 rebounds), juniors Lauren Cornwell (5-8, forward), Kaela Hatfield (5-5, guard) and Shannon Woosley (5-1, guard) and sophomore Sierra Fronk (5-11, forward).

The roster also includes junior guard Kelsey Garrabrant and sophomores Natalie Crockett (guard), Macie Hatten (guard), Maddie Hess (forward) and Jessica Holbrook (guard) as well as Lydia George, a 5-9 freshman forward.

"I like the chemistry of this team," Florey said. "The fact that we only have one senior says that we're rebuilding. We have a youth movement going. We have so many sophomores and juniors on the team that it bodes well for next year and means we're moving closer to a winning season."

Northridge finished last at 0-14 in the MBC, behind Utica (12-2), Loudonville (11-3 and both Danville (9-5), Johnstown-Monroe (9-5), Centerburg (7-7), Fredericktown (5-9), East Knox (3-11).

"The MBC is a good conference year in and year out," Florey said.

"Loudonville and Utica will be good and I think East Knox and Centerburg could surprise some people."