DENTON, Texas (June 11) – The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved new rules for women's basketball games during the upcoming 2015-16 season.   
 
The game will be played in four 10-minute quarters next season instead of 20-minute halves.  The committee believes the four-quarter format will enhance the flow of the game.  The halftime intermission will be 15 minutes and the intermission between the first and second and third and fourth quarters will be 75 seconds.
 
Teams will now reach the bonus and shoot two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter. Previously, teams reached a one-and-one bonus on the seventh team foul of each half and reached the double bonus (two shots) on the 10th team foul.
 
In the four-quarter format, team fouls reset to zero at the start of each quarter. However, if a team reaches the bonus in the fourth quarter, that team would remain in the bonus during any additional overtime periods.
 
The panel also approved a rule that allows teams to 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 overtime 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.
 
The committee made the initial recommendation because it felt this change would add more excitement to offensive possessions at the ends of games because teams would no longer be required to travel the length of the court after inbounding the ball.