OAKWOOD CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES
After a pair of Southern Christian Athletic Association championships, the Oakwood Christian Lady Eagles went looking for bigger fish to fry during the 2019-2020 season.
Joining the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools (formerly the GICAA), the Lady Eagles enjoyed one of their best seasons in school history, winning the GAPPS Division I-A Region 1 championship and advancing to the quarterfinals of the I-A state tournament.
However, playing under the lights and on the bigger stage for the first time, OCA saw an impressive 18-4 season come to an abrupt end with a 49-44 loss to Citizens Christian Academy of Douglas.
It also lit the fire for what the Lady Eagles hope will be a championship run this time around.
“Looking back (before the season) at what we have and what we have coming back, I believe this will be the best team we’ve ever had for our girls,” said head coach Kraig Givens. “But I also see the potential (for us) to be good for a while. There’s just so much potential with the youth that has come up and that’s going to benefit us for a while, although the ones we are going to lose are going to be hard to make up for.”
But losing those seniors is still several months away and there is business to attend to first. Oakwood has a solid nucleus of talent returning to go with a very good contingent of underclassmen if, of course, they can ever all get on the court together.
Like most schoolsin the state, COVID-19 cases and related quarantines have made it challenging for the Navy-and-gold to have everyone together at the same time.
“It has been a little bit of a struggle getting prepared and not having everyone (at practice) every time, not to mention the days out of school, which also mean no practice,” Givens said. “That’s really hindered us in our preparation and that showed in our first game, so there’s still some work to be done.”
Still, Oakwood was able to win that first game thanks in part to a talented and veteran group of highly-unified players who understand the Lady Eagles’ system from an X’s and O’s standpoint.
“Probably the familiarity with our process, offense and defense, and what I ask for,” Givens said when asked about team strengths. “Just spending that much time in the same system is a pretty
big benefit because the majority of our team has been in the system for a while. Our defense is one of the areas where I think we excel the most.”
OCA will go to battle with three seniors, who have all been in the program for at least four years.
Lily Green is a true fiveposition player that will play some at guard, but will mostly work in the post. Givens said they are also hoping to take advantage of a smooth outside shot, which Green has worked to develop. A great defender and leader with a solid grasp of the game, Green averaged 11.9 points a game last season to go with 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
Grayson Broadrick, the lone homeschooler on the squad, has been with the team since the ninth grade. The shooting guard has a quick and confident trigger from the outside and has developed her point guard skills to where she will likely see more time at that position this season.
The final senior is guard Raleigh Suits. Givens said Suits has developed more consistency with her shooting, but her competitiveness makes her a tenacious defender, especially when the Lady Eagles play zone, although the coach added that the senior has shown good improvement in manto-man defense.
“With the unity that they all bring and their ability to encourage and really be focused on getting better and keeping everyone else together, they really are the glue (of our team),” Givens added. “The encouragement they show (others) is huge. They are really good at that.”
Behind them are three experience juniors, who have all logged significant minutes since their freshman seasons.
Mckenley Baggett can play the two or three-guard spot, but could also see time in the post. She is one of the team’s top defenders and is getting more comfortable with her perimeter shooting.
Avery Green, normally a point guard, could see time in the post this season because of her height and her knack for getting to the basket. She was second on the team last season at 11.3 points per gam
Meanwhile, guard Anslee Tucker can shoot the ball and bring it up the floor. Another good defender with excellent speed, Tucker has also improved her shooting touch and range.
The lone sophomore, Caroline Tindell, will play in the paint and has worked hard to develop her inside game. Physically strong with good size, she will be counted on to give the team consistency on both offense and defense.
The Lady Eagles will be rounded out by three fresh
men.
Cheyenne Simpson is the point guard of the future for Oakwood and has nice shooting range from the perimeter. Another guard, Caydn Cahill, is a vocal leader with speed who knows how to get to the basket. Cahill is currently injured, but should return to the court by the start of January.
Then there is Mana Gilchrist, another rookie that can play multiple positions on the floor due to her height. Blessed with speed and solid ball-handling skills, as well as being an excellent defender, she has the potential to have the biggest impact of any freshman that’s ever been in the Oakwood program, having had a big effect on the volleyball team in the fall.
Celina Green, who coached the majority of the players to a GAPPS Division I-A state runner-up finish in volleyball just a month ago, will be the team’s assistant coach.
And like the volleyball team, Givens said he hopes a beefedup schedule, including games against Walker County foes Gordon Lee and Ridgeland, will help get the team ready for the postseason.
“I think the thing that is going to allow us to take that next step is the better competition we’re going to see,” he added. “That will help us prepare down the road.”
He also said that the biggest key to getting to where they ultimately want to be is to simply slow down.
“During the craziness of everything, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” he added. “We don’t know if the next game is going to happen or not, but we can’t focus on what could happen in the future. We need to slow down, take it all in and not be anxious. If we can do that in the game process, that will help us move to the next level.”