Leila El Sabbagh
Staff Writer
The men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted Moonlight Madness to kick off their season Nov. 7 at Frantz Athletic Court.
The first 50 people to check into the event were able to get a Moonlight Madness 2024 shirt as a souvenir for attending the event.
To start the festivities, women’s senior guards Annie Trinh, Madison Salisbury and Marissa Howell were introduced, followed by men’s senior players forward Ryan Lin, guard Dahmaj Warren, guard Logen Howard and guard/forward Josh Rook to highlight their last season as Leopards.
Head coach of the men’s basketball team Richard Reed shared what he’s most excited about for the upcoming season.
“I know getting out and being able to play basketball again can be tough because of the time in between seasons. I’m just excited to get started and to see our team,” men’s basketball head coach Richard Reed said.
To begin the night, a shooting competition taking volunteers from the crowd was introduced.
Volunteers had the objective of making a layup, free throw, three point, and half court shot within 30 seconds.
The men’s basketball team chose La Verne football’s wide receiver Jimmy Rumsey with the women’s team choosing Strength & Conditioning Coach Matt Durant as their first contestants.
Rumsey was able to complete all shots taken including the half court shot that sent the attending football team storming onto the court.
However, Durant was not able to complete a free throw, eliminating the women’s team and giving the game to the men’s team.
“Accountability, unity, selflessness, and hunger,” Lin said.
These are the four pillars the team has come up with for the season and the words they will be living by.
“We’re underdogs every game, so we’re hungry for the competition,” Lin said.
The next game was a three point contest between the men’s and women’s teams.
Representing the women’s team would be junior guard Christen Ziska. Shooting for the men’s team would be sophomore guard Gavin Ibrahim.
Ibrahim was able to complete two shots and Ziska followed by executing 6 shots, winning the round.
“I’m very excited,” women’s basketball head coach Anthony Mason said, “We got a great group of young women, so I’m excited to see them on the court.”
After a second round of crowd volunteers, a final round of half court shots amongst the women’s and men’s teams would be the final decider of who would win the game.
Salisbury and graduate student forward Paul Antonis would be competing against each other.
Salisbury was able to bank the half court shot as the women’s team swarmed around her in celebration, awarding the women’s team the win.
“This is my last year, so I got to go all out,” Salisbury said, “We’re embracing being the greatness this season and going all out, we got this.”
As a break from the games, the La Verne dance team performed for the crowd.
The next game would be a knock out competition with volunteers from the crowd picked by the men’s and women’s teams.
The final game was a half court shot competition with participants from the crowd. Although no shots were made, the night concluded with lots of hype for the upcoming basketball seasons.
The men’s basketball team is 1-1 on the season, and will be back in action at 7 p.m. on Monday evening at Life Pacific University.
The women’s basketball team is 0-1 on the season after a 82-80 nail-biting loss to UC Santa Cruz, they return to the court at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Willamette University.
Leila El Sabbagh can be reached at leila.elsabbagh@laverne.edu.
Leila El Sabbagh is the sports editor for the Campus Times. She is a sophomore journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism who aspires to be a sports broadcaster. She has previously served as a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Emily Casillas is a junior photography major with a concentration in sports photography. She is a staff photographer for both the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine, as well as La Verne Athletics. Her work can also be found at Shot2byEmily.
