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You could call them the hard-luck Lobos.

The University of New Mexico women's basketball team has been hit hard by several offseason injuries at key positions.

Freshman point guard Nikki Nelson, who was the only player backing up starter Amy Beggin, suffered a severe knee injury and will be forced to redshirt this season.

"That's really bad news for us," UNM head coach Don Flanagan said. "You never want to go in with just one point guard."

Sophomore center Valerie Kast suffered a groin injury and ligament damage in her right leg near the end of the spring. Doctors could not perform surgery to repair the injury until this month, because Kast spent July in her native Estonia.

Flanagan said Kast should be back around Oct. 10, two months after her surgery. He figures it will take her an extra month to get back into game shape, pushing her real return to the Lobos' lineup back to early November.

"That's another bad injury, because Valerie's conditioning is really key to her success at this level," he said. "It's a big setback for her and for us."

Kast's injury also is troubling because senior forward Dionne Marsh is recovering from back surgery and could benefit significantly from having the 6-foot-6 Kast draw defenses away from her.

The good news for the Lobos is Marsh's recovery has been smooth and she was recently cleared to begin jogging. She looked comfortable shooting with Beggin at the basketball practice facility Monday.

"I'm happy every time the trainers give me an update on Dionne and it's good news," Flanagan said. "I need good news right now."

Flanagan will adapt to the loss of Nelson by moving sophomore guard Georonika Jackson to a backup point guard role.

"She learned some of it last year and can definitely bring the ball up under pressure, but now we will be adding to her responsibilities," he said. "I want her to be ready for anything."

Jackson had a rocky start to her UNM career. She ran afoul of Flanagan's strict rules and served a brief suspension. Jackson also was extremely shy, a trait some figured would spell a quick departure from the program.

"She just said her first complete sentence to me today," Flanagan joked. "I'm only kidding, but it was pretty rough her first semester. She was very shy and seemed overwhelmed. Now she understands the goals of our program, she talks a whole lot more and she is very much well liked around here."

Baldwin leaves: Flanagan also lost walk-on guard Stephanie Baldwin, who left the team to focus on her education.

"She was the perfect walk on - worked very hard, was very smart and had the skills to keep up with the rest of team," Flanagan said. "But she wants to be a doctor and her school work got to be too demanding. She only had so much time, and she had to make a tough choice. We're going to miss her."

Back to school: The Lobos all made it back on campus in time for the first day of school Monday. Flanagan said he will begin limited workouts with the team Wednesday, giving them time to get settled and make sure all NCAA compliance paperwork is completed.