The second half is the moment of truth in a basketball game. If a team can overcome fatigue their chance of winning improves enormously. Studies have shown that fatigue decreases reaction time and increases mental errors. It's also been shown that fatigue is directly correlated with injuries, which is why so many injuries occur in the late stages of a game. The key challenge is how to delay muscle fatigue.

This interview offers practical strategies on how to accomplish this goal. The interview subjects are Jackie Ansley, founder and president of Performance Training, Inc., the national leader in professional performance enhancement services for women's basketball players, and a preferred trainer of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, and Edmund Burke, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and author of Optimal Muscle Performance and Recovery.

First of all, what causes fatigue?

Jackie Ansley: The primary causes are dehydration and depletion of energy stores in both the muscle and brain.

How can a player delay muscle fatigue?

JA: The two proven ways to delay muscle fatigue are conditioning and in-game nutrition. Players who make the effort to develop high levels of aerobic and anaerobic endurance will always perform better in the second half than players who don't. That's the focus of my work with players. Similarly, players who practice smart in-game nutrition will be able maintain peak performance longer than players who ignore the importance of fueling muscles during a game.

What constitutes smart in-game nutrition?

Edmund Burke: It's how well you restore body fluids and replenish muscle carbohydrate stores during the game and at half time. As little as a 2% loss in body fluids will negatively impact cardiovascular performance. Basketball players can easily lose twice this amount during a game. The problem becomes even more complicated because we can't depend on our normal thirst mechanism to replace the fluid we lose during exercise. We call this involuntary dehydration. That's one reason why sports drinks that contain electrolytes are beneficial. Not only do they restore electrolytes lost during exercise, but salt also makes us thirsty resulting in continual consumption of fluids. It's best, however, to drink on a schedule.

The second component is carbohydrate. Carbohydrate is the primary fuel that powers the muscles during high-intensity exercise. Your muscles store about 2,000 calories of carbohydrate (glycogen) however; you can't use all of them. Normally, you have about 1,500 calories of carbohydrate that is available for energy. On average, the female basketball player comes close to depleting their glycogen stores in about 40 to 45 minutes of hard play. If you consume carbohydrate during the game, you delay use of your stored muscle glycogen, thereby delaying fatigue and extending endurance.

How can a basketball player meet these needs?

JA: A quality sports drink can supply the fluid, electrolytes, and carbohydrate a player needs to maintain performance in the fourth quarter. Drinking water alone will not do the job. In a study performed by researchers at the University of South Carolina, athletes who consumed a sports drink during high-intensity basketball game were able to continue playing 45% longer than athletes who drank only water. These and other studies reinforce the importance of consuming carbohydrates during a game.

Are all sports drinks the same?

EB: Most are very similar. The ideal carbohydrate level for a sports drink is 6 to 8%, and most sports drinks are formulated accordingly. Also, most sports drinks contain electrolytes in the same amounts adequate to replace what is lost by sweating.

However, a new generation of sports drinks based on breakthrough research may change our idea of what constitutes the ideal sports drink. These new drinks contain a small amount of protein, which can make a big difference in performance. In a University of Texas study, athletes during medium and high intensity workouts were given water, a conventional carbohydrate sports drink without protein, or a sports drink containing carbohydrate and protein in a 4 to 1 ratio (ACCELERADE). The results were quite dramatic. The athletes consuming the carbohydrate protein sports drink had a 24% improvement in endurance as compared to those who used the carbohydrate sports drink and a 54% improvement as compared to athletes who only drank water.

The addition of protein increases the muscle's fuel efficiency by speeding carbohydrate uptake, thereby sparing muscle glycogen and delaying muscle fatigue. The result is an improvement in endurance.

What's the bottom line?

JA: I tell players to drink about 12 ounces of a sports drink about an hour before a game and to drink 7-10 ounces every 15 minutes during a game. A sports drink containing carbohydrate and electrolytes is better than just plain water. Also, players should consider using one of the newest sports drinks, such as ACCELERADE, that contain protein in a 4-1 ratio with carbohydrate and have been shown to significantly improve endurance and delay fatigue compared to a conventional sports drink.