INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – And now the unbeaten list is down to just No. 1 and defending NCAA champion UConn (21-0) after then-No. 2 South Carolina destroyed No. 5 Vanderbilt, 103-74, in Columbia, the Gamecocks’ largest victory margin over an Associated Press Top 5 opponent in the 50-year history of the rankings dating to the 1976-77 season.
Dawn Staley’s team entered the Southeastern Conference contest with a chip on its shoulders following an overtime collapse at then-No. 16 Oklahoma on Thursday. Though the Commodores (20-1) parted with their best-ever win streak, they held fifth in the new AP Poll Monday. South Carolina dropped just a spot to third off the 1-1 week, exchanging places with UCLA, and the Sooners shot up to 10th back in the penthouse district of the rankings. The SEC also set a record for all conferences after Georgia bumped Nebraska, moving into 23rd and giving the conference 10 representatives in the poll
As for UConn, Sunday’s visit from No. 15 Tennessee in Hartford appears the only major obstacle to add to a long list of perfect regular season records with just Big East opponents left to play. The same day Iowa will be at UCLA, with both teams likely to still have perfect perfect Big Ten records when they meet at Pauley Pavilion.
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. 25, the five Ann Meyers Drysdale national women’s honorees of the week are NC State guard Zoe Brooks; Ole Miss forward Cotie McMahon; Oregon State guard Kennedie Shuler; Temple guard Tristen Taylor; Columbia guard Riley Weiss. The Tamika Catchings freshman of the week is Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez, and the team of the week is Iowa.
Brooks, a 5-10 junior guard out of Plainfield, N.J., scored 37 points in NC State’s 78-76 overtime win at Virginia in an Atlantic Coast Conference game, shooting 8-for-15 from the field, including 2-for-2 from deep and 19-for-20 from the line along with five rebounds and five assists for the Wolfpack (14-6, 7-2) . The foul shots made broke the program record and also the record in the host Cavaliers’ John Paul Jones Arena. They’re the most in the ACC this season and second most in the NCAA. The points are the ninth-best mark in program history and most since Chasity Melvin also scored 37 in 1998. A past USBWA recipient, Brooks is second on the team in scoring (15.8 ppg.) and on Monday was named ACC Player of the Week.
McMahon, a 6-0 senior forward from Dayton, Ohio, a transfer from Ohio State and a past USBWA recipient, scored a career-high 33 points in Ole Miss' 82-61 road win at Missouri and tied a career high with 12 rebounds. She shot 13-for-23 from the field for the Rebels (17-4, 4-2), who moved up one spot to 17th Monday in the AP poll. McMahon, the SEC's Co-Player of the Week, has a 19.4 scoring average that leads the team and is tied for 19th in the NCAA.
Shuler, a 5-10 junior guard out of Gresham, Ore., had a near triple-double with 17 points, 10 steals and nine assists along with five rebounds and three blocks leading Oregon State to a 92-87 home win over Gonzaga enabling the Beavers (15-6, 7-2) to take sole possession of first in the West Coast Conference. The WCC's Player of the Week is the fourth in the conference since 1999-2000 to have a double-double with points and steals and the first since 2013. She’s currently second in the WCC averaging assists (5.7) and third in steals (2.1).
Taylor, a 5-5 junior guard out of Dallas, Texas, had quite the week in two comeback wins at home for Temple (9-10, 3-4). The first came with Taylor scoring 16 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field with five assists and two steals as the Owls erased a 10-point deficit in the the third period to win 86-83 in the closing seconds over preseason-favorite South Florida. The American's Player of the Week then scored a career-high 32 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field and 6-for-6 from distance with six assists and four boards as Temple came back from a 26-point deficit late in the third quarter to beat Charlotte, 83-82. The win marked the largest successful rally in program history and a tie for second nationally in the NCAA. Taylor scored 17 points in the final period in which the Owls were down 22 at its outset.
Weiss, a 5-10 junior guard from Hewlett, N.Y., out on Long Island, and also a past USBWA honoree, set Columbia's program record scoring 40 points with 15-for-23 shooting from the field, including 9-for-13 beyond the arc, in an 89-32 Ivy League home win over Dartmouth, eclipsing the 39-point record set by Ellen Bossert in 1986. The Lions (13-5, 4-1) set a program record for low points by a Division I opponent, while the 57-point differential is the largest against a Division I team. The Ivy's Player of the Week broke the Columbia record for field goals made and tied the mark for made 3-pointers. Weiss leads the league in scoring average (18.6), points (335), and three-pointers made (43) and is second in 3-point shooting percentage (31.9).\
Chavez, a 5-10 freshman guard out of Lubbock, Texas, and a past USBWA honoree, scored 26 points, 15 in overtime, as Oklahoma stunned then-No. 2 South Carolina, 94-82, at home. She made all five shots attempted in the extended period. The highest-ranked win by the Sooners (16-4, 4-3) matched a prior win over No. 2 Kansas State in 2024. After snapping the Gamecocks’ 12-game winning streak Oklahoma won 72-65 at Auburn Sunday as Chavez scored 18 points. The SEC's Freshman of the Week leads the team with a 19.1 average.
Iowa (18-2, 9-0), with two ranked wins, is performing even better in conference play than it did in the Caitlin Clark era as the Hawkeyes are off to their best conference start since a 12-0 mark in 1996. Coach Jan Jensen’s team overcame a blown 17-point lead in the last three minutes at then-No. 15 Maryland, recovering to win 85-78 in overtime as Ava Heiden scored 20 points and Chazadi Wright scored 18. On Sunday they won their eighth straight game, 91-70, at home over then-No. 12 Ohio State, snapping a Buckeyes seven-game winning streak. Freshman Addie Deal scored 20 points, Hannah Stuelke had 18 points and 15 rebounds while Heiden, named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, scored 18 points. This week Iowa moved up to 8th in the AP Poll ahead of the western road trip to Los Angeles.
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).
• Week ending Jan. 18: Dani Carnegi, Georgia; Dominique Darius, Syracuse; Stailee Heard, Oklahoma State; Nasi Simmons, Columbua; Hannah Stuelke, Iowa (National); Zahara Bishop, Seton Hall (Freshman); Louisville (Team).
• Week ending Jan. 25: Zoe Brooks, NC State; Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss; Kennedie Shuler, Oregon State; Tristen Taylor, Temple; Riley Weiss, Columbia (National); Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma (Freshman); Iowa (Team).