A famous quote from the basketball movie Hoosiers is: Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team - no one more important than the other.

It's a phrase that El Reno High School's girls basketball team has been living out over the first six games of the 2021-22 season.

“That is something we talk about over and over. It's easy to shut down one or two players but it's not easy to stop four or five. It's super important that every player knows their role on the team and that we are a team first.

“That's what I like about this team is that they understand the importance of making sure we support each other and they enjoy it when someone steps up and that we are not just expecting one person to do everything,” said head coach Jennifer Douglas.

El Reno is currently 5-1 on the season and ranked third in Class 5A, its second-highest poll position under Douglas' watch. The Indians are 2-0 against Suburban Conference opponents, beating Shawnee and No.12 Piedmont by a combined 106-60 margin.

“We are pretty blessed and I love the fact that the girls are seeing all their hard work is paying off,” said Douglas.

The Indians lone loss was to Fort Smith Northside by six points in the Arkansas Tournament of Champions.

“That one loss was a great loss because it was by six points to the No.2 team in Class 6A in Arkansas. It was on the road in a hostile environment and we learned a lot about our team and coaches. It was a great learning experience,” said Douglas.

Douglas says she is not worried about her squad peaking too early despite the fact four of the five wins have come by double-digit margins.

“It would be different if we had a team that was young. We start four seniors so I'm not worried about peaking too early as long as we take every single game as serious as we should,” said Douglas.

Douglas added her team will carry a target on its back heading into a tough January slate.

“People will bring their best to us because we do have a target on our backs. We talk about that in practice, pre-game and during each game. It's important we take every opponent as serious as possible,” said Douglas.

El Reno has 11 games on tap in January, six of those in traditionally stout tournaments in Anadarko and Shawnee. The Indians have two conference games against Del City (No.11/5A) and one against Guthrie (No.17/5A).

Two other non-conference head-to-head matchups will be against Lawton MacArthur (No.14/5A) and Kingfisher (No.13/4A). El Reno could face the Highlanders in the Anadarko tourney as both are paired on the top side of the bracket.

“That is what we like. Our schedule is always tough because just about everyone we play is usually ranked. I feel like it prepares us for tough playoff games on the road.

“We will be tested and that's great for us because it will show how we respond to adversity, playing tired and where our mental toughness is,” said Douglas.

El Reno heads into January shooting 49 percent (109-of-222) from 2-point range, while knocking down 13-of-56 shots (23 percent) from the 3-point perimeter.

The Indians have struggled some at the free-throw line, making 73-of-113 shots for 64.6 percent. El Reno has scored 330 points for a 55 per game average, while allowing 253 or 42.2 points per outing.

The offense has been a multi-player attack with nine players scoring, eight of those with five or more points. Ashlyn Evans-Thompson leads the way with 89 points over six games for a 14.8 average. She's made 31-of-64 attempts from inside the arc for 48 percent and 3-of-17 from the perimeter for 17.6 percent.

Evans-Thompson is 18-of-28 from the free-throw line for 64 percent, while collecting 31 rebounds, 15 steals and 13 assists.

Janae Black-Harmon is one of three players averaging in double digits with 69 points (11.5 per game) after making 29-of-52 shots (55.8 percent) from 2-point range and a trio of 3-pointers. She's added a team-leading 44 rebounds, nine free throws, eight steals and six assists.

Close on her heels is Tetona Blackowl with 61 points or 10.2 per game. The guard has made 19-of-49 (39 percent) shots and 19-of-23 free throws for 83 percent. Her line includes 14 rebounds, 14 steals and a team-high 30 assists.

Pauline Black-Harmon is close to a double-digit average with 59 points (9.8 per game) off 47 percent shooting, while collecting 39 rebounds, seven assists and a steal.

Douglas also noted the play of Paige Primeaux off the bench on offense and Leslie Valdez on defense.