INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The basketball season is less than a month under way yet the most plentiful stretch outside of March Madness is now upon us with the annual collection of MTE matchups, some in pure tournament formats, others in a collection of predetermined games in the tropics, in Las Vegas, down in Florida, and elsewhere geared to be played around the Thanksgiving holiday.
The difference between now and several months from now is that national high-powered hopefuls suffering early losses can go back to the drawing board and re-tool what’s needed down the road in conference play to succeed.
Last weekend, one national demonstration in the first of two doubleheaders in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at the Mohegan Sun in which No. 1 produced defending NCAA champion Connecticut with a wide third quarter lead on No. 6 Michigan diminished but the Huskies claimed a narrow escape from an upset while the Wolverines raised the possibility that the Big Ten may not be won again by one of last year’s additions from the former makeup of the Pac-12.
As teams rise and fall, it is the players catching attention upon which deliberations are determined for the weekly honors from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) all through the season.
The USBWA women’s awards, organized under Mel Greenberg, the USBWA Vice President for women’s basketball, are drawn from weekly conference honors as well as at-large additions. Nominations are welcome as each seven-day period rolls along to make sure no one is inadvertently overlooked.
There is no restriction within a week on the number of national honors received within a conference, especially the way realignment has affected membership size.
For the period through Sunday, Nov. 23, the five Ann Meyers Drysdale national women’s honorees of the week are Richmond forward Maggie Doogan; UConn guard Azzi Fudd; Iowa center Ava Heiden; South Carolina guard Ta’Niya Latson; and Kentucky center Clara Strack. The Tamika Catchings National Freshman Player of the Week is Stanford forward Lara Somfai, and the National Team of the Week is Rhode Island.
Doogan, 6-2 senior forward from Broomall, Pa., in suburban Philadelphia, and past USBWA weekly winner, averaged 24 points, 14 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and a pair of blocks for the Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Spiders. On Monday, she picked up a co-conference player of the week, her third straight honor after her team picked up home wins over Temple and Navy.
Fudd, a 5-11 guard from Arlington, Va., and past USBWA honoree, scored 31 points in UConn’s win over Michigan and then scored 24 points over Utah averaging 6.5 rebounds in both games. She also has received multiple preseason all-American honors. On Monday, Fudd was named Big East player of the week.
Heiden, a 6-4 sophomore center from Sherwood, Ore., averaged 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds as the Hawkeyes claimed an upset of then-No. 7 Baylor and narrow win over Miami, both on neutral sites at Disney in Florida at the WBCA Showcase to bolt up eight spots to No. 11 in the new AP Poll released Monday when she also received the Big Ten Player of the Week.
Latson, a 5-8 senior guard from Miami and transfer from Florida State where she was the nation’s leading scorer last season and past USBWA Tamika Catchings national freshman honoree, the SEC Player of the Week was 17-for-22 for the Gamecocks from the field, averaging 24 points and 4.5 assist for the Gamecocks, who have been No. 2 in the AP Poll all four weeks to date behind the Huskies, who beat them for the NCAA title last season.
Strack, a 6-5 junior center from Buffalo, N.Y., who followed Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech going into last season, as well being a past USBWA weekly honoree, averaged 17 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in wins over Purdue and then-No. 21 in-state rival Louisville.
Somfai, a 6-3 freshman forward from Adelaide, Australia, who won an Atlantic Coast Conference weekly freshman honor earlier this season, averaged 14.5 points, nine rebounds, and two assists in a pair of Stanford victories.
Rhode Island won two games to go to 6-1, beating Holy Cross at home before traveling to then-No. 16 N.C. State in Raleigh on Sunday to upset the Wolfpack, 68-63 for the Atlantic 10’s Rams’ first-ever win over a Power Four program and second over a ranked team, the other in 2023 over Princeton, whom they host Wednesday afternoon. It’s the home team’s first loss in Reynolds Coliseum to a mid-major since losing to in-state rival Elon in 2015. Vanessa Harris, a 5-10 freshman guard from Glenarden, Md., who was the A-10’s Freshman of the Week, scored 19 on Holy Cross and 15 on the Wolfpack.
Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a women’s National Player of the Year. For the 2012-13 season, the national and weekly player award became named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale while the national and weekly freshman award is being given in the name of former Tennessee all-American Tamika Catchings, which was applied at the start of the 2019-20 season.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for both individual awards, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA.
The winners of the 2026 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA’s annual awards event on site at the 2025-26 NCAA Women's Final Four in Phoenix.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2025-26 USBWA Women's Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 9: Meghan Andersen, Fairfield; Audi Crooks, Iowa State; Liv McGill, Florida; Taliah Scott, Baylor; Fadima Tall, Princeton (National); Jazzy Davidson, USC (Freshman); UConn (Team).
• Week ending Nov. 16: Zanai Barnett-Gay, Navy; Audi Crooks Iowa State; Olivia Olson, Michigan; Sayvia Sellers, Washington; Sydney Shaw, West Virginia (National); Addi Mack, Maryland (Freshman); UCLA (Team).
• Week ending Nov. 23: Maggie Doogan, Richmond; Azzi Fudd, UConn; Ava Heiden, Iowa; Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina; Clara Strack, Kentucky (National); Lara Somfai, Stanford (Freshman); Rhode Island (Team).