INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – When the final buzzer sounded Monday night, a rarity for the holiday break went into effect that was not a creation mandated by the NCAA nor set up by the TV networks. It became a reality without any planned intention behind the occurrence.
Other than Briar Cliff at Omaha this Saturday afternoon in Nebraska, the entire Division I women’s basketball slate will be inactive until Sunday, the kind of lengthy break over Christmas that has not happened when the pause was even longer in the AIAW era when season schedules were much shorter.
With only one day of games of any significance happening, a day on which conference action starts becoming the dominate part of slates across the nation leading to March Madness, the Associated Press’ next women’s poll will not be taken until after 2026 arrives and likewise will be a week off for USBWA women’s awards though any achievements that have just occurred or will occur Sunday will not be ignored when deliberations resume.
Meanwhile, this week’s group is a memory lane special with four of the five national winners having landed on the three-team USBWA All-American fives last April and the fifth named an honorable mention. 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, Dec. 21, the five Ann Meyers Drysdale national women’s honorees of the week are Iowa State center Audi Crooks; South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards; Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo; TCU guard Olivia Miles; Uconn forward Sarah Strong.
The Tamika Catchings freshman of the week is Gonzaga forward Lauren Whittaker and the team of the week is Texas Tech.
Crooks, a 6-3 junior center out of Agona, Iowa, returned after missing a game and picked right up from her earlier performances to enter Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers territory for USBWA season domination with her fifth out of a potential seven honors. The third team All-American and nation’s leading scorer went 19-for-28 from the field for 41 points in the No. 10 Cyclones’ Big 12 opener won on a 3-pointer at the finish over Kansas to avoid an upset. It’s her third time reaching 40 points this season, making it 79 straight games scoring in double figures.
Edwards, a 6-3 sophomore forward from Camden, S.C., a USBWA honorable mention for NCAA runner-up South Carolina last season, averaged 31.5 points on her team's two-game road swing through the Sunshine State, shooting 13-of-14 from the field for a personal-best 34 points in the 103-44 win at South Florida. That passed her previous best of 29 points seven days earlier over visiting Penn State. Two days later on Saturday she again scored 29 with 10 rebounds in a 105-43 win at Florida Gulf Coast.
Hidalgo, a 5-6 junior guard out of Merchantville, N.J., and USBWA first-team All-American, had her second career triple double in three seasons, scoring 30 points with 13 steals and 10 assists in a 111-38 win over visiting Bellarmine, enabling her to snap a program tie with Arike Ogunbowale, now with the WNBA Dallas Wings, for her 12th game reaching 30 points. A week ago, she set another Notre Dame program record at now 78 consecutive games scoring in double figures. The Fighting Irish on Monday moved up two spots to No. 21.
Miles, a 5-10 senior guard who transferred from Notre Dame to TCU, tied a national record with her third straight triple double with 25 points, 10 boards and 11 assists in a 109-54 win over visiting Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the now No. 8 Horned Frogs. Teammate Marta Suarez, a transfer from California, also had a triple double. Miles, a second-team USBWA All American, then just missed becoming the first person to gain four straight in collecting 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a Big 12-opening 77-55 win over visiting Kansas State to extend the program record home win streak to 34, the nation's active leader one ahead of No. 2 Texas.
Strong, a 6-2 sophomore forward out of Durham, N.C., who was a USBWA third-team All-American, had 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists in a Big East 89-53 win in Hartford for the No. 1 and unbeaten Huskies. Then, on Saturday at Brooklyn's Barclays Center against then-No. 11 Iowa in the Women’s Champions Classic she had 20 points and five steals in the first half, finishing with 23 points, four assists and seven rebounds. On Monday she was named Big East Player of the Week. Coach Geno Auriemma’s NCAA record win total is now 1,262 and the team has been ranked a record 614 straight times over 31 seasons.
Whittaker, a 6-3 redshirt forward out of Canterbury, New Zealand, named Monday as both Freshman and Player of the Week by the West Coast Conference, in three games averaged 19.6 points and 12.6 rebounds. In a narrow 68-66 loss to unbeaten Arizona State she scored 24 points shooting 8-13 from the field with nine rebounds followed by 19 points, 8-for-12 shooting from the field and 16 points in the Zags’ 68-49 win at Missouri State. She then scored 16 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field, to go with 13 boards in a 68-62 win over visiting UC Riveside.
Texas Tech (14-0) won a Big 12-opening 61-60 upset at Baylor as Snudda Collins scored 21 points and Bailey Maupin had 11 with the game-winning scores. The Lady Raiders snapped a 31-game losing streak to Baylor dating to 2011. The team also snapped an 11-game losing streak to ranked teams. On Monday Texas Tech entered the AP women’s poll for the first time since 2012, coming in at No. 21, and Krista Gerlich, a member of the 1993 NCAA champs with Sheryl Swoopes, became the 53rd woman to play on and coach an AP ranked team and 17th to achieve it at her alma mater.
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).
• Week ending Nov. 30: Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt; Audi Crooks, Iowa State; Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, Murray State; Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA; Indya Nivar, North Carolina (National). Madison Francis, Mississippi State (Freshman); Texas (Team).
• Week ending Dec. 7: Lauren Betts, UCLA; Kaety L’Amoreaux, Fairfield; Megan Nestor, North Texas; Medina Okot, South Carolina; Olivia Olson, Michigan (National); Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma (Freshman); Villanova (Team).
• Week ending Dec. 14: Raegan Beers, Oklahoma; Madison Booker, Texas; Audi Crooks, Iowa State; Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame; Fadima Tall, Princeton (National). Kamryn McLaurin, Houston Christian; Mia Pauldo, Tennessee (Freshman); Arizona State (Team).
• Week ending Dec. 21: Audi Crooks, Iowa State; Joyce Edwards, South Carolina; Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame; Olivia Miles, TCU, Sarah Strong, UConn (National); Lauren Whittaker, Gonzaga (Freshman); Texas Tech (Team).