Regional Differences in Women’s Basketball: A Comparison among Continental Championships

Abstract

The aims of this study were (i) to compare basketball game-related statistics in women by region (Africa, America, Asia, Europe), and (ii) to identify characteristics that discriminate performances for each region. A total of 134 games from each continental championship held in 2017 were analyzed. A one-way ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparison was performed to evaluate differences in each variable between the continents. A discriminant analysis was performed to identify game-related statistics that discriminate among the continents. The Asian and European championships overall showed similar performance profiles: Low numbers of possessions and turnovers, and high numbers of successful field goals and assists. However, the European championship was more closely contested than the Asian championship. The African championship was characterized by high numbers of possessions, free throws, and turnovers. The homogeneity of the American championship was low, and some of the cases have similarities with the African championship, whereas other cases have similarities with the European championship. On average, the American championship was characterized by low numbers of successful field goals and assists, and high numbers of steals and turnovers. It is suggested that women’s basketball games are played in a different manner in each region of the world.

The Regional Differences in Game-Play Styles Considering Playing Position in the FIBA Female Continental Basketball Competitions

“…KPIs need to be especially emphasized in our study, TOV and STL. Our study found that African players from all of positions made more TOV compared with the corresponding positional players from other continental championships which was linked to the studies of Sampaio et al [ 3 ] and Madarame [ 8 ] suggested that the game pace and the unorganized manner of play in Africa were the main reasons that lead to the emergence of turnovers. In addition, it is worth noting that European guards had the lowest number of steals and the differences were clear in the pairwise comparison.…”

“…Our results showed that European guards performed less 3 ptA than Asian guards whereas they committed more PF than Asian guards, which were linked with the previous studies suggested that European guards tend to be more cautious before shooting three points, especially in a lower ball possession because the competition level in Europe maintains a higher game intensity [ 7 , 8 ]. In addition, Sampaio and Janeira [ 27 ] suggested that fouls were an effective way to ball possession recovery.…”

“…To accomplish AST, players should not only be proficient with the skills of ball-handling and passing but also the ability of observation and prediction, choosing the best timing and the most appropriate approach to pass to teammates [ 1 , 36 , 37 ]. In addition, our study found that guards play a key role in high-intensity competitions (e.g., Europe and America) and perform higher number of AST than that of Africa, which was partly supported by Madarame [ 8 ], Paulauskas et al [ 30 ] and García et al [ 38 ] who suggested that offense in Europe was well-organized due to the higher number of AST in European competitions. Therefore, Limiting the European and American guards in the game might be the prior defensive strategy for their opponents.…”

“…Although some studies explored the differences between male and female basketball in terms of technical and physical performances in different levels of basketball competitions, the majority of studies are still related to the development and evaluation of men’s basketball which has led to the performance profiles of female basketball lagging far behind men’s basketball. Currently, an updated and influenced study about the regional differences in technical performances among FIBA Female Continental Basketball Championships was conducted by Madarame [ 8 ], but positional differences in this study are not yet confirmed.…”

Difference-based analysis of the impact of observed game parameters on the final score at the FIBA Eurobasket Women 2019

“…This is corroborated by the fact that a mere 15 months after the first experimental basketball match was played between two classes at Springfield YMCA (21 December 1891), Senda Berenson Abbott organized the first ever match between women's teams in this sport at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, on 22 March 1893 (Simović and Pavlović, 2013). It must be said, though, that in the past decade the trend has been shifting and numerous papers have been published on this topic (Bazanov and Rannama, 2015;Conte and Lukonaitiene, 2018;Dimitros et al, 2013;Fylaktakidou et al, , 2013Koon et al, 2011;Kreivyte et al, 2013;Leicht et al 2017;Madarame 2018aMadarame , 2018bMadarame , 2018cMadarame , 2018dMilanović et al, 2016;Moreno et al 2013;Șentuna et al, 2018;Simović et al, 2017;Veleirinho and Tavares, 2013).…”