Girls And Boys Join Forces In Basketball League

The Ledyard Parks and Recreation boys youth basketball league is a place where boys become young men, except this year, there are three exceptions.

Megan Brawner, Kiki Dixon and Sasha Lopez-Watson joined the boys basketball league because there weren't enough girls to make a team or a league.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mike Brawner said “we didn’t want to turn the girls down to playing at all,” and that the three girls "play the same rotations as the boys, and are playing very competitively."

The three eighth-grade girls signed up for the girls senior league but in the end, there weren't enough girls to form a team or a league so they were incorporated into the boys league, which is the first time for the department.

"It's more competitive, it teaches you better skills and you play better basketball," said Lopez-Watson, who mostly plays a forward on the Orange Tigers.

Lopez-Watson, who is 5-foot 6-inches, said her older brother plays on the same team and they practice at home together often. She said he teaches her a lot but the boys in the league are a different story.

"They make me feel different," she said, "which is annoying."

Lopez-Watson, Brawner and Dixon all agreed that the boys treat them differently.

"They go easier on me," said Lopez-Watson.

Her coach, Chris Leonard, said that Sasha has what it takes to earn their respect.

“I think it’s good,” he said of having her on the team. “I think the guys respect her because she’s not afraid to scrap for a rebound.”

Two of the three girls have a brother on their basketball team and these are siblings that, until recently, only met on a basketball court in the driveway.

Kevin Brawner, who said of his sister Megan, “it’s different to see a girl in the mix with all the guys…we’ve gotten used to it.”

Megan Brawner, who stands at 5-foot 7-inches and mostly plays as a forward for the Green Hornets, said "the guys really don't like to pass," and that "they think they can make every shot."

Michael Brawner, who coaches the Green Hornets, said that as far as passes go, the girls get "probably not as much as they'd like to but you have to be open to get passed to."

"The boys are more intense and they're more serious about the game," said Dixon. "They're really emotional."

Coach Brawner said that “initially there were a few boys who were wary of playing with girls, but (the girls) run, they hustle, they fit right in.”

When Mitchell Santiago, who plays on the Orange Tigers was asked if he learned anything from having a female teammate he said, “Yeah. That they’re good.”