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

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.