Analysis of Performance Indicators in Decision-Making and Execution in U14 Female Basketball Players

Female youth basketball remains an underexplored area of performance analysis. This study aimed to analyze the participation and offensive performance of players on a female youth basketball team across a season, assessing decision-making and execution in offensive plays according to playing position and contextual variables. An observational methodology was applied using the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) across 15 matches involving a youth team (n = 11; mean age 13.89 ± 0.25 years). A total of 9450 offensive acts (dribbles, passes, shots, screens, and off-ball movements) were analyzed, calculating participation, execution, decision-making, and game performance metrics by playing position (guards, forwards, and centers) and four contextual variables. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was applied, and univariate analyses of variance (ANOVA) were subsequently conducted to identify the specific index in which differences were located. Results showed the highest values across all indices for guards (Participation = 45.12%; Execution = 0.85; Decision-Making = 0.92; Game Performance = 0.89) and the lowest for centers (26.28%, 0.77, 0.85, 0.81, respectively), confirming differentiated offensive profiles. Regarding contextual variables, playing at home improved offensive performance for all positions, while performance declined in all positions as proximity to the opponent's basket increased. By contrast, the game period showed position-specific differences, and also previous wins modulated participation and offensive performance, reflecting the influence of perceived opponent quality, with effects varying by position. These findings highlight the need for position- and context-specific training to enhance offensive performance for this team's players.