Josephine woman plays for senior team

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Margaret Epperson, 64, of Josephine practices lay-up shots with her granddaughter, Rylee Starnes of Royse City. Epperson plays basketball with the Texas Challenge, a group of senior citizen women ages 65 and up. Epperson said her specialty is the left and right hook, and she and her husband recently finished coaching their granddaughter’s basketball team, the Royse City Puppies, which consisted of kindergarterners and first graders.

April 12, 2007

Anonymous The Zope Gazette Thu Apr 12, 2007, 12:36 PM CDT

Although she’s a grandma, she doesn’t use the “granny shot” to shoot baskets. Her specialty is the left and right hook.

Margaret Epperson of Josephine plays basketball for the Texas Challenge, a group of senior citizen women — ages 65 and up, who play basketball for the Texas Senior Games Association.

Their team, which consists of players from all over Texas, has recently been featured in the Dallas Morning News and on the Dale Hansen Sports Special on WFAA-TV. The Texas Challenge has two squads — age 65 and up, and age 80 and up. They meet once a week in North Dallas to practice, and when they warm up, they shoot lay-ups to the song, “Basketball Boogie.”

“I’ve only been playing basketball since October, and I found out about the team when I read something on-line,” she said. “I haven’t played on a basketball team in 45 years.”

Epperson said she played on her high school basketball team and went to regionals twice. She recently qualified for state in three-on-three basketball and “Around the World.”

“I’ve always liked playing basketball,” she said. “I had an older brother that played, and once I got to playing it, I was hooked.

“I’ve always had a basketball in my hand, ever since I was young. After high school, there wasn’t anywhere else to play at that time. I played some pick-up games until I was in my 30s, but I haven’t been on a team since high school.”

Epperson said their team plays highest court and they sometimes divide their teams up into Red and Blue so they can have someone to play against.

“We play points, and when we get a rebound, we have to only take it past the three-point line,” she said. “And I usually play out front.”

Epperson said she enjoys the competitions and the benefits of playing basketball again.

“The benefits, first off, are keeping fit and staying healthy,” she said. “And second, I make new friends, and I’m always looking to see if I can find someone that I used to play with in high school. Plus, I’m a very competitive person.”

Epperson and her husband, Roy, have been married for 44 years and have three children, Melanie Starnes of Royse City, Nikki Sipe of North Carolina and Stephen Epperson of Caddo Mills; and they have five grandchildren and another one on the way.

“When I started to play basketball again, my kids laughed at me at first,” she said. “Then they saw I was serious, and now they’re proud of me. They gave me a basketball goal for Christmas so I can shoot at home.

“My husband’s very supportive, and he’s going to enter the senior games to play golf and probably badminton.

In her spare time, Epperson likes to sew, cross stitch, read and play golf. She said the best part of her life is being a Christian and being married to a Christian man.

Epperson is currently the only person in Hunt County on the Texas Challenge team. She recently played in her first tournament on March 30 in San Antonio, and the team is gearing up for the Senior Olympics in June in Louisville, Ky.

When Epperson was asked if she shoots the “granny shot,” she said she’s not to the point, yet.

“Although, we have a 90-year-old player, and that’s the only way she can shoot.”

Epperson said other games are available to senior citizens, and she said one of their 71-year-old ladies does pole vaulting.

“I’m going to start running track, maybe the 100-yard-dash,” she said. “I used to be pretty fast, but I don’t know how fast I am now. I want to start running two miles a day, if I can. Or you might consider it a slow jog.”

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