Muhlenberg men’s and women’s basketball are off to a strong start in their 2023-24 season. With the women’s team currently holding a 6-3 record and the men’s team at 2-3, the Mules have high expectations for the rest of their season.
Although the women lost their most recent game against Johns Hopkins, 77-55, Rachel Saxton ‘25, tied her career high of 16 points. Abigail Scheidel ‘24 commented on their strengths and what they are still working on. “I think our strength right now is our man-to-man defense because it has always been a struggle for us but we have been doing very well with it. We still have to work on execution of our offense and to stay disciplined for the full 40 minutes.”
In a similar aspect, Caroline Horst ‘24 commented, “I think we are in a good place and working to get better each day. The few losses we experienced helped expose our weaknesses as a team and where we can continue to improve on going forward. Our strengths include our defense and I think we will continue to get better as we work on communicating on both offense and defense. We also are working on ways to push more in transition to reward our defensive steals and stops.” The women’s basketball team has defined goals, and there is no miscommunication about what needs to be done.
The team truly embodies hard work, and it is evident in their goals for this season. Scheidel said, “Going into the middle of the season, I think it’s really important for us to stay focused and keep working hard. I think it’s important for us to keep communicating on both offense and defense to be able to keep working as a team. Also, our season goal is to make it to the postseason and hopefully win a Centennial Conference championship!”
The Muhlenberg men’s basketball team strives for similar goals and played against Johns Hopkins on Dec. 2. Unfortunately, they lost 66-44, but that doesn’t stop them from aiming high this season. Brandon Goldberg ‘24, spoke to the team’s ambitions. “Our outlooks going into mid-season are still very high, aiming to make a conference playoff run. With a hard non-conference schedule coming up against some tournament teams from last year it’s going to be a tough stretch coming up, but we’re looking forward to battling it out.”
While the men share common goals, they also acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses. Giovanni Rubino ‘24, spoke to the team’s strengths. “I believe our scoring is our strength right now. We have a lot of guys that can put pressure on the defense and play unselfishly which I believe makes us hard to guard. Defending and rebounding our two things I’d say are possible improvement points for us right now. Having played some tough out-of-conference games along with some strong in-conference opponents so far, those are areas that we are looking to get more consistent at.” When a team can identify their areas of improvement and strong characteristics, then it creates a positive team environment for success in the future.
Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are on campus in the winter to keep a consistent practice and game schedule. Horst stated, “Being on campus during the winter break allows us to really focus on getting better each day without as many distractions. I think it grows us closer as a team and is a great time for us to capitalize during a critical part of the season.”
In the same breath, the men’s team has a very competitive chemistry in the winter. Goldberg stated, “During winter break I feel our team is most connected on and off the court. We are one of the only teams on campus besides girls basketball and wrestling so the best way to stay busy and connected is by hanging out outside of practice and games.”
Rubino acknowledged how the ups and downs of the game breeds success. “I’d say our goals for this season are to become the best possible team we can be day in and day out. It’s never going to be perfect but having a next play mentality through the ups and downs is extremely important. We believe if we can keep this frame of mind we’ll have a successful year.” Both the men‘s and women’s teams will confront adversity. However, with Rubino’s mindset, their mentality is more than prepared to handle it.
Each team is prepared mentally, physically and tactically for the rest of their seasons. They are outlining their goals for mental preparation, while physically and tactically attacking their weaknesses in practice. Ultimately, our men’s and women’s teams work towards a season of greatness. The women will travel to Ursinus on Saturday, Dec. 9 for a 1:00 tip-off, while the men head to Marymount on the same day for a 3:00 contest.
