The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved resetting the shot clock in women’s basketball to 20 seconds after an attempted field goal hits the rim and the offensive team rebounds the ball in the front court. The rule is effective for the 2019-20 season in all three divisions.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee members made the proposal in an effort to continue to enhance the pace of the game. It reasoned that a full 30-second shot clock is not needed since the offensive team is already in the front court after securing the rebound.
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Also, when the shot clock is below 20 seconds, it will reset to 20 seconds when the defensive team commits a single personal foul or when the ball is intentionally kicked or hit with a fist in the offensive team’s frontcourt. When the shot clock is at 20 seconds or above, it will not be reset in these situations.
Conduct
The panel approved a rule that if a player receives one technical foul and one unsportsmanlike foul in the same game, the player would be ejected. This rule is effective for the 2019-20 season.
Also, the offended team will be awarded the ball for a throw-in at the division line when the opponents have been assessed a player/substitute or bench technical foul when play resumes.
Another change allows referees to address any acts of misconduct, provided the official is already at the monitor to review for an unsportsmanlike or contact disqualifying foul.
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Experimental rule
NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee members previously approved an experimental rule to use the international 3-point line for postseason events, excluding the NCAA championships in each division.
Committee members, who met last month in Indianapolis, want to examine whether moving the line back to the distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches will enhance the game. The current women’s 3-point line sits at 20 feet, 9 inches.
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Last season in Division I, teams made an average of 6.05 3-point field goals and attempted 19.13 shots from beyond the line per game. Both are all-time highs in Division I. Teams made 31.6% of their shots from 3-point range, which was a slight dip from the 31.9% in the 2017-18 season.
Division II and Division III teams also had all-time highs in 3-point field goals attempted and made last season. In Division II, teams made 6.14 3-point shots per game on 19.44 attempts. In Division III, the averages were 5.53 and 18.7, respectively. Division II players shot 31.6% from 3-point range, while those in Division III made 29.5% of their attempts.