‘Air Grandmas’ Court Youthful Attitude

Go ahead, tell them they shoot like girls. These women will take it as a compliment.

Then they’re likely to dribble past your sorry self, fake left, fire a sly pass and finish with a hook shot. For fun, they might use your face to mop up the court.

Meet the San Diego Senior Women’s Basketball League. They range in age from 50 to 81, and anyone who thinks these dribbling grannies are doddering ladies is in for a big, in-your-face surprise.

“I’m the baby,” said Victoria Henderson, 50. “The first game I played, I put a choke hold on this woman, and somebody said, ‘She’s 72 years old!’ Then she blew past me, and I said, ‘OK, that’s it; no mercy.’ ”

On a recent Sunday, the first few players stride into the Mission Valley YMCA just after 11 a.m., lugging gym bags on their shoulders as their high-tech high tops squeak across the hardwood floor.

Some wear knee braces to support old injuries. Others have tape wrapped around their fingers. Many wear glasses with sports straps securing them in place, and a hearing aid can be spotted in at least one ear.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. They take to the gym floor and begin dribbling, passing and shooting. Soon they are a well-oiled machine of precision drills.

A redheaded kid of about 10 walks by in a Lakers jersey, and he stops and stares. Another man at the other end of the court is more interested in these silver-haired hoopsters than in his own shooting.

They’re one woman short for a game of three-on-three, but nobody in the gym will join them.

“Why are the boys so wimpy?” taunts Denise Hume, 51. “They never want to play.”

Later, Meg Skinner, 72, walks in to pick up some of the slack.

Strong, healthy and athletic, these women are the epitome of ‘90s girl power. They sport the latest in athletic gear, and their strong, muscular legs propel them on rebounds and jump shots.

Many of them also boast that they’re grandmothers.

“My daughter said this morning, ‘Do you want to play with the grandbabies this afternoon?’ ” said Sheila Penrod, 58. “I said no, I’m going to go play basketball.”

Penrod is a newcomer to the fast-growing league. Organizers said they have about 75 active members, all of them older than 50.

They lose a few to injuries now and then. One broke her kneecap in a game a few weeks ago but expects to be back on the court soon. Another broke her nose and didn’t even miss a practice.

“Ugh, I’m too old for this,” groaned a sweating Marilyn Spillane. But after a few squirts of water from a sports bottle and a brief rest, the 58-year-old Spillane and others are back at it.

They generally play two 20-minute halves, using half the court.

The program began in 1993, when David Hall, director of the San Diego Senior Sports Festival, returned from the National Senior Olympics and noted there were no women basketball players from San Diego.

Gen Kessler, 65, began forming a team, and the program has expanded to include representatives at the California State Games, the National Senior Games and the National Senior Olympic Games.

The YMCA has set aside court time for games and practice, and it’s starting a series of clinics to bring newcomers, like Penrod, up to speed for the new season.

Many of the women said this is the first time they’ve had an organized league to play in.

“When I grew up, there was no competition for girls at all,” said Marilyn Morell, 60.

“If you really liked competitive sports, you had to go into swimming or ice skating,” said Barbara Ackerman, 57. “We just didn’t have the opportunities.”

In addition to the exercise, they say they enjoy the camaraderie of being part of a team. They good-naturedly rib each other and slap high-fives when someone hits one from outside the key.

They stand around discussing plays with basketballs tucked under their arms, wiping their sweating hair off their foreheads.

“As long as you don’t ever quit, you just don’t quit,” Penrod said. “You’re more energetic, your heart is better, your attitude is better. You tend to eat healthier, because you are healthier.”