"If she scores on me, it's humiliating," said Guernsey, a UCLA sophomore who often plays pickup games and dreads having to guard a woman. "If I score on her, I'm a jerk."

Humiliating? A jerk? Basketball is such a mind game. It can be something else too, as some guys get flustered by being so close to a woman who may be placing her butt on them (boxing out) and touching their hip (hand-checking). It can throw a guy's game off.

Then there are the guys who are all hands, if you get my drift. One grab too many. My quickness on the court has saved me. Simply put, I don't mind getting hit during a game, but hate getting hit on.