Women's basketball has gained more national attention in recent years, and the NCAA reports more than 16,000 subjects played for all colleges in 2019. The large volume of subjects creates a necessity for understanding what could predict playing time. There have been investigations conducted focused on the relationship between preseason performance and playing time in male Division I and II basketball athletes. These studies stated the importance of muscular body strength for male athletes. However unlike male basketball, women's basketball has few studies that explain the relationship between preseason performance and playing time on any level of competition and none could be found for a NCAA Division II Program. Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between preseason fitness testing and playing time within a Women's Division II Basketball Team. Methods: Retrospective data from preseason athletic performance for 12 women NCAA Division II basketball players were gathered to determine the relationship between muscular strength and muscular endurance testing (push-ups, bench press, pull-ups, squats, sit-ups), cardiovascular endurance test (mile time), sprint performance tests(400 m and 800 m sprint time), and average playing time per game during the following season. Data was analyzed utilizing Pearson Product Correlations and linear regression analysis. Significance set a p < 0.05. Results: Data showed no significance between any variable and playing time, for correlations and linear regression analyses. While data showed no significant correlations, bench press (r = 0.5, p-value = 0.28), push-ups (r = 0.42, p-value = 0.22), pull ups (r = p-value = 0.14), 800 m sprints (p-value = 0.12) displayed a positive trend towards significance. Conclusions: Unfortunately, due to a small study population, there were not any variables significantly correlated to playing time for Division II women's basketball players. However the positive trends in bench press, sit ups, pulls, and 400 m sprints could display a group of variables that might be valuable to for playing time. These positive trends may indicate that strength could be a primary factor in playing time, like in previous investigation performed in males. Future studies should try to increase study sample size to better understand the impact of these fitness tests on playing time. Practical Application: The study did not conclude a significance between the variables and playing times, however, pulls ups, push-ups, and bench press were the most significant compared to other variables. To increase playing time, coaches could implement strength training activities that focus on increasing muscular strength and muscular endurance in these areas. Beziehung zwischen vorsaisonalen Fitnesstests und Spielzeit bei einer Frauen-Basketballmannschaft der NCAA Division II
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