DIAMONDALE - Mid-Michigan women’s basketball fans rejoice, you can watch your players year round now that the Moneyball Pro-Am has added a women’s league.

The men’s side has been in existence for 12-years now and four years ago Paige Sauer, former University of Connecticut and WNBA player, decided to equal the playing field starting a women’s league in the works. “I always wanted to get the Pro-Am to have a women’s side to it so I met with Desmond (founder of Moneyball Pro-Am) and we finally made it happen and it’s a great event,” said Sauer.

With the average basketball season starting in November, fans generally get six to nine months of game action out of the year and Moneyball helps extend that. “They want to see their players 12 months a year and so when I announced that we were having a women’s side the fans were so excited,” said Sauer.

The reaction has been great so far, “I’m glad they did, it adds more excitement and last week we got here on Tuesday and it was so crowded we couldn’t hardly get in,” said Rose Lander, Michigan State Basketball fan.

The majority of games are standing room only since they are free to the public. “Moneyball is a 6-week league, there’s 8 guys teams and there’s 4 girls teams, and you get to see current and former college and professional athletes,” said Sauer.

Lander’s favorite part is seeing players like Aitch who she had in daycare years ago. “Right now we don’t have season tickets so we watch on television so it’s nice to get out and see them personally,” said Lander.

Games take place every Tuesday and Thursday until August 4th, providing an advantage for both fans and players alike. “I remember coming to Michigan State to watch the girls play back when I was younger and there was nobody in the stands and as a women’s athlete you want to play in front of fans, I think it’s a big motivator,” said Former Michigan State Women’s Basketball Player Lauren Aitch.

With the crowd that most games draw it’s also great experience for underclassmen who have not had that game day experience yet. “It’s a great support system before the season even starts, it kind of gets you in front of a crowd because a lot of the times if you just are going through the summertime and then go into conditioning it’s a long time before you see any fans,” said Aitch.

The games are similar to pickup basketball, offering no pressure and a lot of offense. “You get no coaches, you’re not getting yelled at by any of your teammates or coaches, it’s just fun basketball and in college it’s fun to play but you don’t get super free rain to go out and shoot 25 times. So just to go out and play and have some friendly competition and work on some things that you are working on during the summertime,” says Michigan State Basketball Junior Tori Jankoska.

The friendly competition features current and former teammates playing against each other, creating a game of strategy as well. “We know how our teammates are and we know their strengths and know their weaknesses so it’s just kind of funny to test them and push them to certain limits,” says Former Michigan State Women’s Basketball Player Jasmine Hines.

Aside from seeing teammates, Moneyball Pro-Am provides an opportunity for players to compete against new faces each week as well. “You play with the same girls for eight-nine months out of the season, it’s fun to go out there and play with a bunch of different people,” said Jankoska. “Playing with other girls, it’s a neat opportunity, we don’t really get the chance to do that so I think it helps us both grow as Michigan State players and then players from any other college.”

With many colleges mixed in throughout each team, the competition level on the court is heightened. “I battled with one of the Michigan State girls and it was awesome, I wouldn’t trade it for anything," said Central Michigan University Junior Cassie Breen. "It’s always nice for a mid-major school, me, going in front of the Michigan State crowd and proving them wrong like ‘I’m here I can play with you guys."

Aside from competition Moneyball provides some major benefits that you can't get with normal summer conditioning. “It’s a great way to stay in gameshape, you can workout a lot but staying in gameshape you just gotta play the game,” said Sauer.

“It’s a lot different than just playing pickup at open gym it’s a real game, you’re playing against good people. It’s just a good time for us to work on our game, get to meet new people and network,” said Hines.

Networking is how Sauer started it all. “It was just me networking the programs around the state to get enough players to buy in and commit to this. Central’s on board and Michigan state but we need to get Michigan, Oakland and Western. I think the word is going to spread that we have a lot of talent here, the games are a great atmosphere and I think we’ll have more representation of universities,” said Sauer.