La’Nia Moore’s path to becoming a role model for her sisters and teammates
HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio (athletics.tri-c.edu) – On a basketball court in a Canton, Ohio park, you can often find one woman with a basketball working on her game. Ballhandling, form shooting, driving, and just having fun. As you watch, you notice a few younger girls migrating towards where she's working on the other side of the court, alone.
She's only here because it's easier and more convenient to work out in the park than inside the air-conditioned gym at Cuyahoga Community College's Eastern campus. Not that she won't be there later, since she never misses practice. But to be what she wants to be – a great role model to the three younger sisters watching and joining her on that park court – she needs more work than just practice.
After all, it's that work that earned La'Nia Moore (Fr./Canton, Ohio) the OCCAC Player of the Year award as a freshman.
Moore's journey didn't start as the top player in the conference, though. She had to grow into that role, just like she's trying to grow into the role of being a leader for this year's Triceratops.
Coming out of high school, Moore was searching and struggling to find a place where she would be able to compete in college. But the offers weren't coming in from traditional schools.
It wasn't until Moore participated in an all-star showcase that she felt like she found the right program for her. At that showcase, Moore ran into Tri-C head coach Dion Griffin, and the two started talking.
"I felt this energy from him that made me want to come see the school," Moore said of her first conversation with Griffin.
With her mom in tow, Moore traveled the hour from her home in Canton to Tri-C's Eastern Campus to officially visit the school. There, she met with Griffin and other staff members and got a look at all the facilities Tri-C has to offer.
"Once I got to Tri-C and took a tour. It was like I was meant to be here," Moore said. "My mom told me, 'This is it.' Even with the commute, it was still worth it."
Moore didn't have to take any other tours or look at other schools; she knew Tri-C was the right fit. She signed with the Triceratops and hasn't looked back.
For most college basketball players, practices and team activities don't start until midway into the Fall semester. With a young core and many new faces, Griffin had his Triceratops get to know each other through a summer league. Immediately, Moore could see that there were some key differences between what she was used to and what she would go against.
"When I first played in summer league, I was like 'oh my gosh, these girls are big and they don't play around,'" Moore said with a laugh. "I drive to the basket a lot, so if I'm playing against a taller person, I can't do that as well. I have less space. I had to learn how to play around that and see if there were other opportunities to score."
The new group of Triceratops took their lumps in summer league, but the move paid off when the regular season came, and Tri-C won 10 of their first 11 games. Moore in particular played outstanding in the early part of the season, collecting an Ohio Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Week award November 10 and then three straights from December 1 through December 15. During that stretch, Moore put up eye-boggling numbers like a 40-point outing November 25 against Community Christian and four consecutive games with at least 20 points, capped off by a 33-point December 10 showing at Lorain County Community College.
Even as points and accolades were rolling her way, Moore wasn't focused on that. Instead, she kept her mind on working hard and continuing to improve herself, just like she wants her sisters and teammates to do.
"I'd be there every day working out and practicing like I wanted to play," Moore said. "I'm the farthest away from the campus and I've never missed a day of practice."
With all that hard work, things were looking up for Moore as a future star and face of the program. But things took a turn when she tweaked her ankle in a December practice before the team's early January trip down to Florida.
Moore's perseverance and drive to be the best player possible made it so she would continue to give it her all. She kept practicing and playing with her bad ankle, trying to give it all for her teammates.
"I should have taken that time out, but I didn't want to affect the team with my absence," Moore said. "I still played, but I definitely feel like I should've sat out because I didn't contribute as much as I did whenever my ankle wasn't hurt."
Moore was able to recover toward a critical stretch as the Triceratops claimed the OCCAC championship and a bid in the Great Lakes District championships. The biggest prize would come after the season, as Moore was named the OCCAC's Player of the Year as a freshman.
"I've never gotten a player of the year – I've only gotten a couple of awards ever," Moore said with a wide grin. "It feels amazing to have the opportunity to get the Player of the Year award and have my mom, my partner, and especially my younger sisters see me accomplish that."
To Moore, that was a recognition that not only did she have an outstanding season, but she also set the standard for everyone that hard work and being yourself truly pays off.
"I want to show my teammates and my sisters that you don't have to be a part of everything or fit in to get what you need," Moore said. "I'm trying to show them that you have to be yourself and play like yourself to get where you want to go."
Entering her second year with the Triceratops, Moore sees herself taking more of an active leadership role in the program. She learned what worked during her Player of the Year season last year. As one of eight freshmen on last year's team, Moore and her teammates are all looking to grow from what they learned across their first year of college basketball. They're competing in summer league again – this time winning most of their games – and growing together. Moore has already seen chemistry and trust starting to build, especially as she takes more of a leadership role.
"I have a lot of our newcomers looking up to me and asking me a couple of questions here and there," Moore said. "I'm really trying to be more of a leader to them and give them a glimpse of what I went through and how I did it."
But more importantly than her teammates, Moore is also still trying to set an example for her sisters. As much as she loves working out in the Eastern Campus Gymnasium with her teammates, Moore likes to think back to that park in Canton near her house.
"I go to the park near my house and take my little sisters with me all the time," Moore said. "They'll be sitting there playing, but then they come over and want to play basketball with me because they're watching. They see me working out and doing my thing and they think 'oh, that's why she looks like she is having fun while she plays.' That's what I want from this season. I don't want to be hidden anymore. I want to be seen."
SUMMER PROFILES
This piece is the seventh in a series of profiles on players and coaches around the Cuyahoga Community College athletic department. See below to read the prior entries:
May 13, 2026 - Family and perserverance drive Cuyahoga Community College Men's Basketball's Frankie Evans IV to next chapter
June 10, 2026 - Relationships and bonding push young Cuyahoga Community College Women's Basketball team to new heights
June 15, 2026 - Brooke Brubaker gives back at Guardians Summer Camp
July 2, 2026 - Championship mindset from Day One: The 2025-26 Cuyahoga Community College softball season
July 3, 2026 - Former Cuyahoga Community College baseball coach thriving in Minor League Baseball
July 14, 2026 - Adversity can't hold Jamir Ross back from OCCAC Co-Player of the Year honors
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