Basketball remains largely a male preserve, but women and women's leagues have begun to assert themselves in recent years. The road can be bumpy but rewarding, writes PNS commentator Taniesha Williams. An accompanying article considers the recent failure of a women's basketball league. Williams wrote this article for YO! (Youth Outlook), a newspaper by and about Bay Area youth produced by Pacific News Service.

There I am in the girls' bathroom, putting on my uniform, getting ready to play some hoops.

When I walk into the gym I feel all eyes on me. Girls mug, guys just look at me and give me props as I join the team for warm-ups.

This is my fourth season of twilight basketball. I am the only one who has to worry about "Are my underarms shaved?" and "What if we play against my boyfriend's team?"

All this started my eighth grade year. These games are part of the "Henderson Program," designed to keep kids off the streets from 4 to 8 pm. They asked me if I wanted to work at a concession stand, but I said I wanted to play ball, so while all the girls were working at the stands and talking to the boys, I was in the gym shooting.

My first game was mostly about getting over the jitters. My first shot airballed and the crowd screamed, but it didn't bother me. After that it was more fun. I started talking trash to my friends on the opposite team, and ended up with seven points.

By the end of the season, I was tired of listening to the crying -- almost every game would be stopped while players complained to referees -- but I kept on playing because I wanted something to do. At the awards assembly I got a plaque and a trophy.

I had to deal with a lot of negativity -- like the girls calling me a boy and boys looking at me as one of the "niggas." But I was raised to never care about what others think about you as long as you are having fun. I think this is why I play -- to teach people I could care less about what they think of me.

My second season was much better than my first one. My team had a lot of tall people, so they let me run the point. I was glad, because it let me show my ball-handling skills.

This is when the fun began. Before each game, everyone said they were going to " pick" me -- try to steal the ball from me. This would start a dialogue, and we would end up betting on the game and during warmups, I'd be talking hella trash.

Since I was pushing the ball, the tempo was up and I loved that -- we would get amped. Since I'm female, the other team would try to press me and steal the ball -- I would just do a crossover or give them a fake. On average, I would shake my opponents 30 times in a game.

Every game was like this, except when we were playing against my boyfriend's team. Then I would pass the ball up court because I wouldn't feel right shaking him -- I know how his ego is, and I didn't want to lower his self-esteem.

The season went well. Since I ran the point, I didn't have to worry about people pressuring me to shoot. We lost in the semi-finals. I got the MVP trophy for females again.

My third season, I ended up on the same team as my boyfriend. This I did not like. He treated me differently.

He ran the point and I played a wing. When we were in a huddle, he would hug all over me. When I did something good he would hit me on the butt. No one else did things like this to me, so I felt uncomfortable.

The only positive thing was that I got the ball more often than usual. That season went well, but we finished third -- as usual, I got MVP for girls and best sportsmanship trophies.

Since the end of last season, I've been going through a lot of personal things, so I haven't been as focused on ball as I used to be. But I've got a lot of run, have the best defense, pressure the ball, get a lot of steals and some rebounds for a little person. I hardly get the ball, and when I do I'm scared to shoot. I know I have to correct my mistakes so that I can take my team some place.

This is my life as the only female playing Twilight Basketball. I've been through mostly fun and good times, but also some bad ones. I will never regret any of this. It is an experience other females will have in the future. It will teach them to be strong. It taught me this.