OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 17, 2021) – There weren't too many folks outside of Oklahoma Christian who would have predicted the Lady Eagles would be among the eight teams to qualify for the slimmed-down 2021 Lone Star Conference women's basketball tournament.

But OC pulled off four road wins against LSC foes during the pandemic-shortened season, finished 7-8 overall and had four players earn some sort of All-LSC honor, including one – Brooklin Bain – who was named the league's freshman of the year. She and another All-LSC player, junior Kendra Levings, return this season to lead an intriguing squad that will open its season Thursday against Champion Christian (Ark.).

Coach Stephanie Findley – entering her 37th season at the OC helm, and her 44th overall with the program – will try to blend her returning core group of rotation players, which includes Bain, Levings, Kendall Blackburn and Emma Epperly, with a talented group of newcomers. If the Lady Eagles can overcome depth issues at a couple of spots, there seems to be plenty of potential.

"We look to that group (of veterans) for leadership," Findley said. "They are a calming force on the new guys. They feel a lot better when those guys are out on the court. We just have to build around them."

Freshman Kate Bradley has emerged during the season as OC's top option at point guard. Findley never has been afraid to start a freshman at that key position if she thought that player was ready and she believes Bradley is. A tremendous athlete – Bradley starred in both basketball and softball at Bixby High School and will play both those sports at OC – Bradley also is an intelligent player who will make the correct decision most of the time.

As the season begins, Findley is working to shore up that position behind Bradley. Freshman transfer Ashanti Day and redshirt freshman Hope Fletcher will figure into the mix once they are healthy, and Levings, Bain, redshirt freshman Kayton Kite and a freshman forward, Lexy Borgstadt, also could see ball-handling duties when Bradley isn't on the floor – or even sometimes when she is.

"Kate has been doing a really good job," Findley said. "You just hate going into a season with only one (healthy) point guard. We'll see how that pans out. Kate is fully capable. We've got to keep her out of foul trouble. She's a really good shooter who can knock down the three. She's a good passer and sees things and anticipates things pretty well. She's a solid defender who gets after it and hustles."

Findley has several options at shooting guard. Levings (10.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg in 2020-21) is listed as a forward, but her ability to stretch defenses with her deep shooting range puts her in the backcourt a lot. Junior-college transfer Macy Smith, another forward who is a deep shooting threat, can provide instant offense.

Plenty of young players also will be trying to earn playing time, including Kite and true freshman Peyton Andrews and Brooklyn Long. One player Findley had planned to count on, junior Erica James, already has likely been lost for the season due to injury.

"We've got a lot of freshmen down there, trying to get some experience," Findley said.

The backcourt's current lack of proven depth might turn into an advantage of sorts, though, as having different players bringing the ball up the court could present matchup problems for opposing teams. It also forces the Eagles to become more versatile as players.

"When you're not sure who's going to be in what spot, you just kind of have to make it all for one and one for all," Findley said. "Everybody needs to be able to get the right spacing and just fill four spots in general and go from there. They're doing a good job adjusting to that."

OC's frontcourt is a bit more settled. Levings and Smith like to play on the wing, to take advantage of their shooting abilities. Bain (15.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg), a first-team All-LSC pick, found a home at the power forward spot last season and also can step out and shoot the 3-pointer. OC's coaches have favorably compared Borgstadt to former OC All-American Amy Bratcher, whose bull-in-a-china-closet style of hoops proved quite effective back in the 1990s.

"I knew that she could shoot and that she's very strong and could rebound," Findley said of Borgstadt. "She can play inside or outside and she's left-handed. I did not know she had the ball-handling skills she does, because she didn't handle it as much on her high school team as she has been in practice now."

Atlanta Hopgood has a season of the experience in the OC system and can contribute when called upon and Findley said freshman Natalie Smith also has turned heads in the preseason as her game has developed.

"We didn't know much about Natalie," Findley said. "She was interested in us and came to school here. She's been a nice, versatile surprise."

Blackburn (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Epperly (7.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg) were mainstays in the post for OC last season. Another redshirt freshman, Lia Mikiashvili, is hopeful this season will be the one when she's able to return to the court and the 6-foot-1 post player could give the Lady Eagles a different look when Findley wants to go with a bigger lineup.

The Lady Eagles will be seeking their third LSC tournament berth in as many seasons. It's a stout league, with defending national champion Lubbock Christian (Texas), a top-10 program in Texas A&M-Commerce and traditional powers such as West Texas A&M. Cameron and Midwestern State (Texas) – teams OC split with last season – also are being touted among league contenders this season.

"I will have a hard time judging us until I see everybody and get to see us against competition," Findley said. "Everybody has got some players. It's just a matter of how deep they are. I don't know much about us until we get out there and get a couple of games under our belt. It's that way every year, putting those puzzle pieces together and figuring out your best lineups."