Does the WNBA use a smaller basketball than the NBA?

The assumption is that since women are generally smaller and weaker than men and have smaller hands, they need a smaller and lighter ball. Since the diameter of the rim is the same for men and women, the degree of difficulty in scoring a goal is not as great for the women. This is why many purists do not grant validity to overall NCAA "women versus men" records and achievements. When Chamique Holdsclaw was accorded the distinction of being the all-time scorer at the University of Tennessee (passing Alan Houston), many people felt that this honour was not deserved since she had a distinct advantage over Houston by using a smaller ball and thereby a larger target. The only way to truly "level the playing field" would be to use slightly smaller rims for the women, making the degree of difficulty comparable to that of the men.