Behavioral momentum in sports: a partial replication with women's basketball.

The authors watched four women’s NCAA basketball games. They counted how often each team scored right after a turnover or a time-out.

They used the same score sheet from an earlier men’s study. This let them compare momentum patterns across genders.

After a turnover, the team that lost the ball usually scored on the very next trip. After a time-out, the team that called it usually scored first.

These swings matched the pattern seen in men’s games. Reinforcement rates shifted the same way.

Cox et al. (2017) showed pitchers’ choices follow the matching law. Both studies use single-case tracking in live sport, proving ABA tools work outside clinics.

Sarber et al. (1983) warned that hard probe trials can fake failure. Our hoops data had no probes—just natural turns—so the momentum signal stayed clean.

Thompson et al. (1971) shocked turtles to show basic stimulus control. Fifty years later, the same single-case logic still maps rebounds and steals.

You can treat game events like reinforcement shifts. If a client plays sport, chart what happens after errors or breaks. Then teach them to reset fast, just like the women who scored right after a turnover.