PORTALES, N.M. (March 2, 2020) – Oklahoma Christian might be the No. 12 – i.e. lowest – seed in the Lone Star Conference women's basketball tournament, and to outsiders, the odds would seem stacked against the Lady Eagles winning in the first round at fifth-seeded Eastern New Mexico.

That said, OC has some reason for confidence that it can play with the Greyhounds, because – for a time – they did so earlier this season. The rematch between OC (8-18) and Eastern New Mexico (20-8) will tip off at 6 p.m. MST (7 p.m. CST) on Tuesday at Greyhound Arena.

When the teams played in the regular season on Dec. 21 in Portales, it was the final game of the semester for OC, coming at the end of a long road trip. The Lady Eagles trailed Eastern New Mexico by 18 points two minutes into the second half, but rallied within 54-50 by the end of the third quarter before the Greyhounds responded. Eastern New Mexico eventually won 80-69 but OC coach Stephanie Findley liked the fight her team showed that day.

"I thought we played them well when we played out there," Findley said. "We just didn't make quite enough plays. We'll see if we can go make some more plays this time. … It is somebody that we've played, and we've played in their gym, so we're familiar with it. I think that's a good thing to look at."

The Greyhounds are fighting for a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament, sitting at ninth in the NCAA's South Central Region rankings, with the top eight making the Division II tournament field. Eastern New Mexico no doubt would like to use a run through the LSC tournament as a springboard.

Eastern New Mexico – which knocked off then-No. 1 Lubbock Christian (Texas) in Portales earlier this season – ranks second in the LSC in rebounding, averaging 44.6 per game. The Greyhounds' lineup includes 6-foot-4 Natalie DeLonge (12.0 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game), 6-foot-2 Alivia Lewis (10.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and 6-foot Jasmine Williams (7.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg). Lewis and Williams rank second and fifth, respectively, in the LSC in rebounding.

The Greyhounds' leading scorer is guard Zamorye Cox, at 12.4 points per game.

"They are a very big, strong, physical team," Findley said. "That will pose problems for us in rebounding, in post defense and being able to get into the paint to score. We're going to have to be sure and knock down some outside shots to open that up. We'll go give it a shot and see what we can do."

OC has the league's fourth-leading rebounding in junior forward Katie Mayo (11.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and she's also the Lady Eagles' leading scorer. Junior point guard Maddison Collyer (10.9 ppg) and senior guard Megan Shelton (10.7 ppg) also have double-figure scoring averages and Collyer leads the LSC in assists at 5.2 per game.

The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to a quarterfinal matchup against fourth-seeded Tarleton State (Texas), to be played at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. Should OC advance, tickets for that game can be purchased through the OC athletic department.