The Iowa State men’s and women’s basketball teams made their first showing of the year, and if the Cyclone Shootout is any indication of what this season will bring, it will be an exciting year.

The festivities kicked off with the introductions of all the players and coaches from both teams, complete with spotlights and techno music, which has become a staple at Cyclone sporting events.

The three-point contest followed, with Stacy Frese and Megan Taylor competing for the women and Kantrail Horton and Thomas Watkins shooting for the men.

Frese and Taylor were both impressive, as Frese, the defending champion in the event, nailed nine bombs.

Taylor, likewise, was on fire, hitting 10 threes in the 30-second allotment.

Horton and Watkins also put on a good show, with Horton making eight shots, while Watkins advanced to the finals with 10 long range shots.

Taylor and Watkins went down to the wire, with Watkins barely edging Taylor, 8-7.

After an auction, the women’s team played its scrimmage in front of the smallest crowd in the last four years of the Cyclone Shootout.

The 20-minute running clock scrimmage was predictably sloppy, which often had fiery head coach Bill Fennelly agitated.

There were a couple of bright spots for the Cyclones, however.

Junior guard Erica Haugen lit up the Shootout, finishing with 20 points and not missing a shot from the field.

The cardinal team, consisting of the starters (Taylor, Frese, Tracy Gahan, Angie Welle and Monica Huelman) and Haugen, crushed the gold team, 41-16.

Welle, a sophomore from Fargo, N.D., was strong on the inside, scoring nine points, while Taylor, Frese, and Gahan all hit at least one three-pointer en route to the expected blowout.

For the gold team, Holly Bordewyk hit two three-pointers for six points to lead the team, while fellow freshmen Erica Junod and Lindsey Wilson looked strong in their Cyclone debuts.

Then it was the men’s team’s turn to take the court, and the team looked hauntingly like last year’s version, despite having a plethora of new players.

Marcus Fizer looked very solid, as he collected a number of rebounds, while the play of Jamaal Tinsley raised a few eyebrows in the crowd.

The flamboyant point guard from Brooklyn, N.Y. via Mount San Jacinto Community College in Calif., showed off his ball-handling abilities throughout the scrimmage.

Tinsley, showing a flair that has not been seen in Ames for quite some time, led the team in both spectacular passes and unsightly turnovers.

He kept the fans “oohing” and “aahing” throughout the contest and ended it clearing his teammates out and trying to beat Horton off the dribble.

The rest of the Cyclones had uneven performances, led by Paul Shirley, whose added bulk was apparent.

Shirley, a 6-9, 230-pound junior, sat out last season in part to get stronger in preparation for the rigors of the Big 12 season.

The women’s team will kick off its season with an exhibition game against a Lithuanian National team on Thursday.

The regular season opens Nov. 19 at Creighton.

The men will have to wait until Nov. 10 to open the exhibition season, while the first game to count will also take place Nov. 19.

They open their season at Drake.