The Purple and White game is Weber State University’s annual basketball showcase at the Dee Events Center.
The event began with player introductions and the coaches speaking to the crowd. Both coaches used the time to announce their assistant coaches and their training staff.
Men’s baskeball head coach Randy Rahe used the time to thank the crowd for their endless support.
“We have by far and away the best fans in the Big Sky,” Rahe said.
The next event was the 3-point shootout. The shootout was between team upperclassmen and team underclassmen, where each team was represented by two men and two women, respectively.
Representing the underclassmen were sophomores Cody John, McKay Cannon, Emily Drake and freshman Gina O’Brien. Seniors Deeshyra Thomas and Jeremy represented the upperclassman, alongside juniors Kailie Quinn and Dusty Baker.
In the end, team underclassmen won by a score of 29-27. The scoring leader for the underclassmen was O’Brien, with 10 points. For the upperclassmen, it was a tie at the top of the leaderboard, Quinn and Baker each picking up eight points.
“We’re competitive guys, obviously,” Cannon said. “Any time there’s a competition, we’re trying to win, so it was good to come up with a W.”
After the 3-point contest and a short break, it was time for the women to begin their scrimmage.
It started with a bang as Thomas scored the first points of the game for the white team.
At the end of the scrimmage, the purple team won 30-26, led by freshman Dominique Williams with eight points. Thomas was the highest scorer for the white team with 16 points.
“It felt great once we started practicing and everything, but actually getting to play up and down in front of a crowd … It’s this feeling that’s getting you ready for the season,” Thomas said. “We can’t wait.”
In the men’s scrimmage, the final score was 37-30 with the purple team beating the white team. The big difference for the men’s game was that the players switched teams throughout to scrimmage with different groups of teammates.
In the end, Senglin, Baker and junior transfer Brekkot Chapman all scored 10 points each.
Earlier in the week, the Big Sky Conference announced their all-preseason teams and their team rankings for both men’s and women’s basketball.
For the men’s team, the only Wildcat to make the rankings was Senglin, who was tapped as a preseason all-conference player. None of the women’s team made the all-conference team for the Big Sky.
Both the media and coach’s polls in the conference selected the Weber State men’s team to take first place in the conference. The women’s team ended up eighth out of the twelve teams in both polls.
The first game for the Weber State men’s basketball team will be on Nov. 5, as they battle against Black Hills State in the exhibition game at the Dee Events Center at 5 p.m.
The Weber State women’s basketball team will hit the court on Nov. 7 as they take on Montana Western in their first exhibition game at 7 p.m.
This article was updated Oct. 23 to correct a photograph caption incorrectly identifying Kyndahl Hill.
