Here's a better view of the same bike in the men's version https://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/5238608401.html It looks as though it is original and may have been stored for a lot of years. Those are the original pedals that would come on the bike. My guess is late 70s to early 1980s because it used the downtube shift levers and the brands for the components. Sakae and Suntour both went out of business and the names were bought out. They are made in Taiwan by a conglomerate these days.

There's a lot to check on the bike. Are the tires sound? If they are more than 6 - 8 years old, they probably should be replaced. Ditto for rubber brake pads, covers for the brake handles, and grips. The grease in all of the places where you have bearings has likely hardened. The very least you should clean and regrease the bearings in the wheel hubs. Check all of the cables to make sure they move freely in the housing and are not frayed. It is well worth taking a bike like this and refurbishing. Even though it may be "old school" with somewhat outdated components it will be far better than any entry level bike you were previously looking at.

It's worth buying an inexpensive ($40 postpaid) bike repair kit on eBay like this one so you have all of the tools to do maintenance on the bike Universal Bicycle Home Mechanic 44 PC Tool Kit Set Repair with A Case | eBay You can see tutorials for how to do maintenance on youtube, at the Park Tool Company website or at the Sheldon Brown website Sheldon Brown-Bicycle Technical Information and Repair Help Articles - Park Tool