Performance and Home Advantage in Women’s Collegiate Basketball

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if a women’s basketball team at a private liberal arts college performed better when they played at home versus when they played away. This study included statistics which were recorded throughout the 2016-2017 season. The statistics that were included were points, field- goal percentage, three-pointers percentage, fouls, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, points on turnovers, 2nd chance points, and missed layups. Other factors that were taken into account were the opponent’s record, the team’s record, opponent’s points, point differential, and the crowd size. The null hypothesis was that there was no significant difference in performance whether the team plays at home or away for women’s basketball during the 2016-2017 season. The results found that the team performed better at home in terms of number of points scored, field goals percentages, three-pointers made, rebounds, assists, blocks, and points scored on turnovers. The team performed better away in terms of percentage of wins, fouls, steals, and missed layups. There was no difference when it came to the number of turnovers and points scored on second chances in the home and away sample. There was a home court advantage for the categories listed above, although the differences were not statistically significant at the 0.05 level.