INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) — As explosive as the first week of the new year was, the next seven days out-did the previous ones. Nine teams in the Associated Press women’s poll, in its ongoing 50 th anniversary season, took losses with only a few due to matchups with other ranked teams. That caused a major shakeup in the new listings released Monday.
Reports of LSU’s demise with an 0-2 start in the Southeastern Conference coming off a weak non-conference schedule proved premature after the Tigers unhitched then-No.2 Texas from the unbeaten column Sunday, leaving just three teams with perfect records. But two of those unbeatens are off to their best starts since both Texas Tech and Vanderbilt advanced to the same Final Four in 1993. The other is No. 1 and defending NCAA champion UConn.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has been reduced to just two teams in the new rankings, just one more than the mid-major and Ivy League frontrunner Princeton which moved up to No. 22. Several honorees this week are making encore appearances on the women’s side of the United States Basketball Writers Association awards though some other past winners also had some outstanding performances.
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, Jan. 11, the five Ann Meyers Drysdale national women’s honorees of the week are Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge; Richmond forward Maggie Doogan; Texas Tech guard Bailey Maupin; Notre Dame guard Cassandre Prosper; and Long Island U. forward Kadida Toure. The Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week is Tennessee guard Mia Pauldo and the Team of the Week is Vanderbilt.
Cambridge, a 5-7 sophomore guard out of Nashville, whose sister Kennedy is also on the Ohio State (15-2, 5-1) roster, scored 28 points with nine rebounds and eight assists in Sunday’s 89-76 upset at then-No. 8 Maryland, scoring 12 points in the final quarter. This followed her 41 points with six rebounds and six assists in a win at Illinois, snapping the Illini’s 10-game home winning streak. On Monday, she was named Big Ten Player of the Week and the Buckeyes moved up to No. 14 in the polls, having lost only to the Top 5 duo of No. 1 UConn and now No. 3 UCLA.
Doogan, a 6-2 senior forward from Broomall, Pa., in suburban Philadelphia, a past USBWA honoree this season, shattered the Richmond record book, scoring 48 points in the Spiders’ 91-84 triple overtime home win over Davidson. The point total was tops for all NCAA Div. I players this season and the highest total ever in an Atlantic 10 contest -- Rutgers' All-American Sue Wicks had the previous mark of 44 at George Washington from 1987. Doogan also tied the Spiders' made field goal record with 17 and grabbed 13 rebounds. Earlier in the week as conference preseason favorite Richmond (14-4, 4-1) won at Fordham, she had 18 points, 10 boards and a team-high six assists. On Monday she was named A-10 Player of the Week.
“It was just an unbelievable performance from Maggie,” said Richmond coach Aaron Roussell of her record performance. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been a part of a game like that, but I know for sure I’ve never seen an individual performance more impressive than what Maggie displayed. The shot making was jaw dropping on multiple occasions. She just simply would not let us lose.”
Maupin, a 5-10 senior guard out of Gruver, Texas, scored 17 points while shooting 5-for-10 from the field as No. 17 Texas Tech (18-0, 5-0) won 71-60 at Cincinnati, the Red Raiders’ first win in four tries over the Bearcats. Earlier at West Virginia she had a season-high 27 points, with four makes from beyond the arc for the team’s first win in Morgantown since 2015 and third overall. Texas Tech is off to its best start since the Sheryl Swoopes-led group went to the Final Four in 1993. On Monday Maupin was named Big 12 Player of the Week.
Prosper, a 6-3 senior guard out of Montreal and an earlier USBWA honoree this season, scored 17 points with 14 rebounds for Notre Dame (12-4, 4-2), which upset then-No. 22 North Carolina at home, forcing 22 turnovers. That followed an earlier home win over Boston College, 94-60, in which she scored 27 points, shooting 8-for-10 with 13 rebounds. On Monday, a week after being booted from a long run in the AP Poll, the Fighting Irish returned at No. 23 and UNC was sent packing in an exchange of ACC teams.
Toure, a 6-3 forward from Silver Spring, Md., scored 22 points with 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in a 77-61 win at Saint Francis, Pa. That followed Long Island’s 66-61 win at Mercyhurst in which Toure double-doubled with 29 points and 14 boards. Her 19.7 points and 10.6 rebounds lead the Northeast Conference, in which the Sharks (9-6, 4-0) are tied for first with defending champion Fairleigh Dickinson. Toure, who previously played at James Madison and Arizona State, earned her second NEC Player of the Week this season announced Tuesday.
Pauldo, a 5-6 guard out of Paterson, N.J., earned her second USBWA freshman honor this season, scoring 18 points in Tennessee’s 85-50 home win over Arkansas. In an earlier 90-80 win at Mississippi State, Pauldo scored 26 points, tying the eighth-best scoring performance by a Lady Vols freshman. Following Sunday’s win, Tennessee second-year coach Kim Caldwell said what impressed her most was not her size or scoring but that she doesn't turn the ball over on a team plagued by turnovers.
Vanderbilt (17-0, 4-0) after breaking into the polls' Top 10 last week, won 99-68 over visiting Missouri in which for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, all five starters scored 15 or more points. The only other SEC team to accomplish that feat in the past 26 seasons was Arkansas, against Florida in 2023. On Sunday, the Commodores, under former UConn star and assistant Shea Ralph, won 91-51 at Texas A&M as Mikayla Blakes, the reigning USBWA second-team All-American and Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Year as well as a previous weekly winner this season, scored 20 with six assists against the Tigers and 25 against the Aggies. The 17-0 start equals the program’s longest win streak and on Monday Vandy moved up in the AP Poll to No. 5, its highest ranking since 2002.
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, Southern Cal (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, Connecticut; 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 Jacquez, 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).
• Week ending Jan. 4: Mikayla Blakes, Vermont; Avery Howell, Washington; Tonie Morgan, Kentucky; Nikola Priede, Vermont; Taliah Scott, Baylor (National); Uche Izoje, Syracuse (Freshman); Duke (Team).
• Week ending Jan. 11: Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State; Maggie Doogan, Richmond; Bailey Maupin, Texas Tech; Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame; Kadida Toure, Long Island U (National); Mia Pauldo, Tennessee (Freshman); Vanderbilt (Team).