86-Year-Old Basketball Star Heads to National Senior Games After 70-Year Journey

At 86, Gail Eppley steps onto the court for 3-on-3 basketball at the National Senior Games in Des Moines this summer. From July 24 to August 4, she'll show off skills built across seven decades.

"When I get on the basketball court, I feel like I can compete against anybody," said Eppley per Queen City News. "On the court, I go out there and win."

Among 12,000 senior athletes nationwide, she stands as one of ten Humana Game Changers. Last year's national contest saw her snag third place with players she met at the event.

Each Monday finds Eppley at Tom Sykes Recreation Center, running plays with the Sassy Sisters. She splits her practice time between Charlotte and Hickory, where she joins the Red Foxes on Saturdays.

Back in the 1950s at Cramerton High, she lit up the scoreboard with 57 points in one game. The rules were different then: six players per side, with half the team stuck in their own court section.

She went on to play at High Point College, backed by local businesses. Years passed, and 1982 saw her switch to coaching at Charlotte's Harding High School.

Joint replacements couldn't stop her drive. "Basketball has given me a chance to compete, to feel worthy,'" she said, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Her sharp shooting catches young players off guard. During a recent session, a trainer admitted, "You shoot better than the kids I teach."

Off the court, she fills her schedule with yardwork, pickleball, and playing with the grandkids. Her family, a husband of 66 years, four kids, fourteen grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren, keeps her busy.

"My mom has experienced many injuries over the years," Suzette Smith, her youngest, shared. "But every time she fought to get back to doing the things that she loves."

For the upcoming games, she'll join a Virginia team sight unseen. Their first practice happens in Iowa, right before the competition starts.