As evening falls, the normal sounds of the wind in the trees and the rush of traffic are overpowered by the thunder of feet as they track up and down the basketball court. Two teams, sweat-drenched and weary, attempt play after play in their quest for triumph. But there are no jerseys to be seen, no coaches, no referees. Instead, there is mismatched athletic apparel, ridiculous knee socks and an abundance of sweatbands.

This is intramural basketball, where students do not play for fan-filled bleachers or championship title, but for the pure love of the game.

Intramural teams are divided into freshman/sophomore and junior/senior joint leagues. With no coaches, each team is responsible for its own players. It may be a more relaxed atmosphere, but there are still rules. A team must be represented by at least five players at each game or they are forced to forfeit. Games usually fall on Monday or Tuesday evenings.

Sophomore Kirk Wiebe plays in the freshman/sophomore league with his team, the Hollistars. He prefers intramurals to regular basketball because he can enjoy playing the game without the stress of time-consuming practices.

The Hollistars performed well during the season with several victories but were thrown a curve when they went up against the ultimate foe: the faculty team.

The faculty team consists of teachers of various subjects. This group of energetic educators entered late, but was lucky enough to fill the last open spot. Unfortunately for the Hollistars, this spot was in the freshman/sophomore league.

The Hollistars went away from the game in defeat, but they have no hard feelings against the teachers.

“We let the teachers win,” Wiebe said.

To the Hollistars, Hennings stood out as a formidable opponent. Several of the students commented on her being “awesome” and even “invincible.” Hennings played basketball in both high school and college, but merely laughed when she heard her opponents comments on how good she was. She did comment, however, on Cumpston’s infamous “wrestling move.”

“He’s scored twice with it, and you just have to see it to believe it,” Hennings said.

Hennings was very humble when speaking of her own talents, but did say that the faculty team was heading for the championship.