Girls Will Use a Smaller Basketball Next Season

The CIF Southern Section, following the lead of women’s college basketball, has approved the use of a smaller basketball for high school girls.

The Southern Section voted last weekend to make the switch, which will become effective next season. The ball, which weighs between 18 and 20 ounces and is 28 1/2 to 29 inches in circumference, is two ounces lighter and an inch smaller than the regulation ball.

The U.S. Girls and Women’s Basketball Committee voted last year to use the small ball on a one-year, experimental basis for four-year colleges.

Edison High School Coach Dave White said use of the smaller ball should decrease the number of turnovers, but added, “I don’t think you’ll see dramatic changes. Maybe it will improve shooting and ballhandling.”

Geri Gainey, a sophomore guard at Mater Dei, has been playing with the smaller ball in pickup games. She said it was an easy adjustment and that it helps her shooting.

“My range is better,” she said. “I get better rotation on my shot, and I can palm that ball.”