LAWTON, Okla. (Jan. 9, 2021) – In Stephanie Findley's first season as Oklahoma Christian's head coach, her Lady Eagles came to Cameron's Aggie Gym and won the 1985-86 NAIA District 9 title game in dominating fashion, setting a still-standing national shooting record by making 79.6 percent of their shots.

OC won again in the same building on Saturday, and the circumstances were almost as improbable. With only seven players in uniform – one of which had played all of one minute this season – the Lady Eagles downed Cameron 53-47, two days after falling to the Aggies at home in a last-second heartbreaker.

Freshman forward Brooklin Bain looked like her mother – former OC All-American Misti Mitchell Bain, who was in the stands watching – posting career highs with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Also playing the nearly unbelievable role as hero was 6-foot-3 junior Antonia Kovacevic, who scored her first points for OC on a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers that swung the momentum back to the Lady Eagles.

"I'm not really sure what happened," Findley said, standing outside a jubilant OC locker room. "Those girls played their hearts out – that's what happened. We have people playing in positions that they don't know. We're just making it up and drawing it in the dirt over here. We just threw all the spots out the window today and said, 'Just go play ball.'"

The only healthy players left for OC (2-2, 2-2 Lone Star Conference) on Saturday were the septet of Bain, Kovacevic, Kendra Levings, Emma Epperly, Maddison Collyer Ingraham, Tyra Peck and Amaya Buchanan. That group outrebounded Cameron by a 43-38 count and limited the Aggies – a strong 3-point shooting squad – to 6 of 32 (18.8 percent) from behind the arc.

"Our rebounding was important on the defensive end," Findley said. "I told them to (focus on) defensive boards, so they weren't getting second chances. And our zone defense did well. We got to the corners a little bit faster. I think (the Aggies) were cold the first half but I think also we were getting to them a little quicker than we did the other night."

OC led for most of the game and seized control in the second quarter, limiting the Aggies to only four points. The Lady Eagles led 24-15 at halftime before Cameron (3-2, 3-2) scored the first eight points of the second half. The Aggies had edged ahead 36-32 by the end of the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Kiara Lovings, who led them with 11 points.

Kovacevic – a junior-college transfer from Frank Phillips (Texas) who missed most of last season with a knee injury and had played only briefly in Thursday's loss to Cameron – saw 13 minutes of action Saturday. She knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to open the fourth quarter, and with 7:34 left, she ignited a 7-0 run by the Lady Eagles with another 3-pointer, putting OC ahead for good at 40-38. Amazingly, those were two of only three 3-pointers all day by OC.

"She has barely practiced the last two months and really is still kind of injured," Findley said. "We didn't think she should play many minutes at a time. She did a great job. She just has a knack for basketball. She knows basketball. She's just been injured and hasn't been able to play. She is a typical Croatian – they all can play on the perimeter and like to shoot. She's the biggest girl out there but she's not a post player."

By the end of that run, OC was up 44-38 with 6:32 left. Cameron drew within 48-47 on a basket by Jazmin Luster with 1:41 left. After an exchange of turnovers, Bain hit two free throws with 40.5 seconds left

Cameron's Maighan Hedge – the LSC's second-leading scorer – and Stephanie Peterson each missed a 3-point attempt before Bain hit two more free throws with 12.4 seconds left, extending OC's lead to 52-47. Hedge missed another 3-point attempt and Epperly rebounded for OC with 4.5 seconds left. She split a pair of free throws for the final margin.

Levings and Ingraham played all 40 minutes and Peck didn't leave the game until fouling out in the final minute.

"We're just trying to have fun and play hard and not think about the fact that we're tired," Findley said. "They did a great job of that. They mentally pushed through. I know they're tired but we made the plays when we had to."

Besides Bain, no other OC player scored in double figures, but Levings had nine points and Ingraham had eight points, seven rebounds and five assists. Peterson scored 10 points for Cameron while Hedge had nine on 2-of-14 shooting.

OC is scheduled to play another pair of games against a LSC divisional rival next week, visiting Texas Woman's on Thursday and hosting TWU on Saturday.