INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Three days inside March Madness, we come to week 16 and the final set of USBWA women’s awards with the regular season concluded, except in the remaining set of conferences whose bid for NCAA automatic qualifiers will be held next season. In that group, No. 23 Princeton and Columbia are tied for the lead in the Ivy League with Harvard just a game behind. Penn’s elimination last weekend broke a string of Ivy Madness appearances, setting the field with fourth place Brown but not the seeds which will be determined Saturday.
The current week accelerates quickly on Wednesday with the starts of conference tourneys in the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, and Big 12.
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.
Each week this season here has included a strong mix of players from the Power Four and mid-major conferences, especially true of this week’s final set of honorees. 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, March 1 the five Ann Meyers Drysdale national women’s honorees of the week are James Madison forward Ashanti Barnes; Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes; BYU guard Delaney Gibb; Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo; and South Dakota State forward Brooklyn Meyer. The Tamika Catchings freshman of the week is Gonzaga forward Lauren Whittaker, and the team of the week is Texas A&M.
Barnes, a 6-2 graduate forward from Norfolk, Va., earned the Sun Belt Player of the Week and an All-Conference second team nod for James Madison (23-8, 14-4). In a pair of Dukes wins averaged 24 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists. In a 77-55 triumph over Old Dominion, she had 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals, followed by a career-high 29 points with 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 72-56 win over Coastal Carolina.
Blakes, a 5-8 sophomore guard from Somerset, N.J., is a four-time USBWA honoree this season as well as the USBWA's reigning Freshman of the Year and a second-team member from its 2025 All-America team. The SEC's Player of the Week, Blakes finished propelling No. 5 Vanderbilt (27-3, 13-3) to a program-best 13 SEC wins averaging 34.5 points, five rebounds, and 4.5 points. Downing then-No. 23 Alabama, 85-60, she scored 35 points shooting 11-for-21 from the field, including 6-of-23 making 3-pointers with four steals. Blakes then completed a string of five straight games scoring 30+ points against ranked teams in an 87-77 win at Tennessee, hitting 12-23 from the field, including 6-of-9 from deep, for 34 points with six boards and four assists. Blakes' 27.1 scoring average leads the nation and she averaged 30.5 points per game during SEC play, posting 30-plus points 10 times, including in eight of last nine games.
Gibb, a 5-10 sophomore guard from Raymond, Alberta, Canada, in a pair of wins by BYU (20-10, 9-9) under first-year coach Lee Cummard, averaged 25 points with 6.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists for the week. In the 66-61 triumph at Arizona State, Gibb was 13-for-14 at the line with seven boards while scoring 24 points. She was again near-perfect at the line, shooting 11-for-14 for 26 points with six rebounds and seven assists in a 75-62 win over Colorado.
Hidalgo, a 5-6 junior guard out of Merchantville, N.J., in suburban Philadelphia, led Notre Dame (20-9, 12-6) to its fifth straight win, a 65-62 upset at No. 10 Louisville. She averaged 28.5 points with nine boards, seven assists, and six steals in the two games to earn her third USBWA season honor and seventh ACC Player of the Week award. Hidalgo is the fastest in the ACC and Fighting Irish history to reach 2,000 points and one of four major conference players this century with 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 400 steals, as well as the only player to do so as a junior. She scored 27 points earlier in the week in the 72-62 win over Syracuse before scoring 30 on Louisville.
Meyer, a 6-2 senior forward from Larchwood, Iowa, and a past USBWA honoree, in a pair of wins by South Dakota State (24-6, 14-2) averaged 25.5 points and nine rebounds to earn her seventh Summit Conference Player of the Week honor and 13th overall, second best in conference history. She became SDSU's all-time single-season scoring leader with 662 points. She scored 18 in a 59-44 win over North Dakota State, snapping the opposition’s perfect Summit record and ending a 23-game win streak and then poured 33 points, shooting 13-for-17 from the field in an 82-49 triumph over South Dakota. Meyer leads the conference with a 22.1 average while also sitting third in rebounds at 5.1 per game.
Whittaker, a 6-3 redshirt freshman forward from Canterbury, New Zealand, in a 1-1 week by Gonzaga (22-9, 14-4) averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds to earn her second USBWA and record 13th West Coast Conference honor this season. She leads all NCAA freshmen in double-doubles with 17 and is 12th among all players. After scoring 18 points with 12 rebounds in a 75-67 win over Saint Mary’s, Whittaker shot 10-for-17 to score 30 points with 10 rebounds in an overtime setback to Portland.
Texas A&M (14-11, 7-9) endied its regular season upsetting then-No. 19 Ole Miss, 66-58, for its third ranked victory in a month as Ny’Cera Pryor scored 16 points and Fatmata Janneh had 15 points and 10 boards. The Aggies head to the SEC Tournament on a five-game win streak that earlier in the week included a
68-64 win over Mississippi State as Pryor scored 16 points and Janneh grabbed 11 boards.
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).
• Week ending Feb. 1: Taylee Chirrick, Montana State; Audi Crooks, Iowa State; Sayvia Sellers, Washington; Clara Strack, Kentucky; Sarah Strong, UConn (National); Jazzy Davidson, USC (Freshman); George Mason (Team).
• Week ending Feb. 8: Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State; Joyce Edwards, South Carolina; Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, Marshall; Gisella Maul, California; Kiki Rice, UCLA (National); Jaliya Davis, Kansas; Francesca Schiro, Siena (Freshmen); North Carolina (Team).
• Week ending Feb. 15: Jasmine Bascoe, Villanova; Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt; Maggie Doogan, Richmond; Megan Norris, UC Davis; Olivia Miles, TCU (National); Jazzy Davidson, USC (Freshman); Maryland (Team).
• Week ending Feb. 22: Hailey Adams, Rice; Ava Heiden, Iowa; Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame; Olivia Miles, TCU; Madina Okot, South Carolina (National); Jazzy Davidson, USC (Freshman); Clemson (Team).
• Week ending March 1: Ashanti Barnes, James Madison; Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt; Delaney Gibb, BYU; Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame; Brooklyn Mayer, South Dakota State (National); Lauren Whittaker, Gonzaga (Freshman); Texas A&M (Team).