BREWER – Kristen Kelley, Tess McLaughlin and Molly Palmer are sweaty, and maybe just a little bit tired, but they are smiling.

The girls have just gone through their paces with their Captains teammates at a Brewer Police Athletic League basketball practice at the Brewer Auditorium.

And they say that basketball -in a brand-new PAL league that is just for girls – has never been more fun.

“It’s fun because I can play with my friends,” said Kelley, a 9-year-old from Brewer. “I’m looking forward to winning some games and losing some games, but no matter what, we are having fun.”

The new league has four teams, with 37 girls in grades three to five participating.

Girls previously played in the PAL on coed teams. This year, girls were given a choice of playing in their own league or continuing to play in the coed league.

More than 30 girls opted to stay with their coed teams, on which some had been playing in past seasons, according to league commissioner Mark Farley of Brewer. That means that now about 70 girls are playing PAL basketball – up from 50 a year ago.

A total of 184 boys and girls are playing PAL basketball, which has 13 coed or boys teams. There are also more than 30 cheerleaders.

The Brewer PAL draws children from Brewer, Clifton, Dedham, Eddington, Holden and Orrington.

The PAL regular season opens 5:30 p.m. Friday with two games at the Brewer Auditorium.

Games are scheduled 5:30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays, and 8:30 a.m. Saturdays, every week through Jan. 20.

At the conclusion of the regular season, all teams will participate a double-elimination tournament.

Farley said that the new league was started to give girls more playing time and a better chance to develop skills.

He added that girls entering the league for the first time next year automatically will be placed on teams in the girls league.

Palmer, a 9-year-old from Dedham, was a PAL cheerleader last year. She said was excited about playing in the girls league.

“Sometimes boys are maybe a little bossy. Girls want to do their own thing,” she said.

McLaughlin, a 9-year-old from Brewer who also made the switch from cheerleading to basketball, agreed.

“Boys are a lot taller, and you can’t get the ball past them. It gets you frustrated,” she said.

“And boys don’t pass to you sometimes,” Kelley added. “You get more of a chance to get the ball when you play with girls.”

Ten-year-old Katie Snow of Brewer played on a coed team last year, and she said that playing for the all-girls Wardens team this year has been “more fun.”

“I like it better. I have my friends on my team. I also get to play more,” she said.

Patty Kelley, Kristen’s mother, coaches the Captains along with her husband, Dick. She said the girls have been playing more assertively this year.

“It’s been said that in the coed league the girls were a little more timid, and this gives them the chance to be more aggressive,” she said.

“Now, if they go on to play in middle school or high school or even beyond, it will have given them an advantage,” she said.

Lieutenants coach Debbie Moriarty of Holden, who was an assistant coach for a coed team last year, said she also has noticed a change in the girls.

“All my girls seem to have a lot of fun, and they are participating. There are no shy ones,” Moriarty said.

Although Brewer had a PAL program in the 1950s, the current league has been operating since 1974. Farley said more children have joined the league every year.

Farley has been the commissioner for four years and a coach for five. His daughter played in the league five years ago, and this year his son is on his coed team.

He credits the league’s success to the support of parents, the professionalism of the coaches and the referees, and an emphasis on teaching the children that “winning isn’t everything.”

“Brewer PAL is all about kids having a good time,” he said. “We teach teamwork, and fair play.”

He added that the referees are trained carefully. During games, they often pause to explain to a player the reason for calling a violation.

Parents serve as volunteer coaches and referees and work the concession stand at games. Farley said many parents valued and enjoyed the league so much that they continue to volunteer even after their children are too old to play.

He said that the volunteers go all out to make game time exciting and fun for the children.

“When you walk in to the auditorium for a game you smell the popcorn, the coffee, the hot dogs,” he said. “It’s an exciting atmosphere for the kids.”

Wardens coach Bob Snow, Katie’s father, agreed.

“It’s real fun when the games are going on,” he said. “There are two games at a time and a lot of spectators coming in. It’s a tournament-time atmosphere,” he said.

Snow also praised Farley and his wife, Susan, for their organization.

“They’re very committed. That’s what makes it work,” he said.