NCAA mandates four 10-minute quarters, other changes

The NCAA approved changes in game rules to women’s basketball this past June.
The change in rules included implementing a four-quarter format, as opposed to 20-minute halves. 
In the new format, there will be five time fouls per quarter that will reset on a per- quarter basis. 
Other changes include the option to advance the ball in the final minute of a game. 
Not long after the rule change, the Community College Coaches Athletic Association (CCCAA), which governs women’s basketball in California, adopted the same rules for the upcoming season. 
Laney women’s basketball coach Ron Williams didn’t have an opinion either way on the changes. 
“I think [the rules] will change the flow of the game up,” he said from his on campus office. 
Williams was particularly interested in changes in the team fouls allotted per quarter. 
He believes the new rule change could affect games significantly, depending on how the referees call the game. 
“You could literally get at 12 or 13 [free throws] by the 10-minute mark. So that more free throws [which can] be an advantage for somebody,” Williams said.
He is also concerned about a new rule that makes it legal for a defender to put their forearm on an offensive player’s back while in the post. 
“It’s going to be called 10 different ways and I don’t know how we’re going to have any continuality with that,” he said.
As far as his players are concerned, the Laney coach believes they’ll adjust fine to the transition. 
The Eagles’ first chance to play under the new set of guidelines comes on Nov. 10, when they play host to Monterey Peninsula College at 6: 30 p.m.

The game changes

• Four 10-minute quarters
• Teams will reach the bonus and shoot two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter
• In the four-quarter format, team fouls to reset to zero at the start of each quarter. If team reaches bonus in the fourth quarter, that team would remain in the bonus during any additional overtime (OT) periods.
• Teams can advance the ball to the frontcourt following a timeout immediately after a made basket in the last 59.9 seconds of the fourth quarter and any OT periods.
• Teams also will be allowed to advance the ball to the frontcourt after securing the ball from a rebound or a change of possession. In these scenarios the ball would be inbounded at the 28-foot mark on the side of the court where the scorer’s table is located.
• A team will not receive a new 10-second backcourt count when a throw-in results from the following:
• The ball is deflected out of bounds by the defense.
• There is a held ball and the possession arrow favors the offensive team.
• A technical foul is called on the offensive team while the ball is in its backcourt. Defenders are allowed to place a forearm or an open hand with a bend in the elbow on an offensive post player with the ball whose back is to the basket.