Vanderbilt Guard Leads Five National Award Winners; Mississippi State’s Francis Named Freshman of the Week
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes earned U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week honors Monday, headlining a group of five standout performers from Thanksgiving week tournaments across the nation.
The USBWA women’s awards, organized under Mel Greenberg, the USBWA Vice President for women’s basketball, recognize the top performances from conference honors and at-large selections for the period ending Sunday, Nov. 30.
Joining Blakes as national honorees are Iowa State center Audi Crooks, Murray State forward Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, UCLA guard-forward Gabriela Jaquez, and North Carolina guard Indya Nivar. Mississippi State forward Madison Francis earned Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week honors, while Texas claimed National Team of the Week recognition.
Blake’s Powers Vanderbilt to Paradise Jam Title
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Blakes, a 5-8 sophomore guard from Somerset, N.J., led No. 15 Vanderbilt (8-0) to the Paradise Jam-Island Division championship in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, with dominant performances in victories over Oregon State (88-66) and BYU (84-71).
Against the Beavers, Blakes exploded for 35 points, shooting 12-22 from the field with three steals and four assists. In the championship game against BYU, she added 27 points, six assists, three steals, and four boards, averaging 31 points across the two victories.
The former USBWA freshman honoree has helped coach Shea Ralph, a former UConn star, restore Vanderbilt to national prominence. Blakes earned SEC Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Crooks Continues Historic Run with 47-Point Explosion
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Crooks, a 6-3 junior center from Algona, Iowa, collected her third USBWA honor in four weeks, matching the consistency previously shown by former national honorees Caitlin Clark (Iowa) and Paige Bueckers (UConn), who became successive WNBA rookies of the year.
The dominant center led Iowa State (9-0) to the Cocoon Hoops-Blue Heron title in Fort Myers, Fla., with victories over Marquette (84-73) and Indiana (106-95). After scoring 18 points with six rebounds in the opener, Crooks delivered a career-high 47 points against the Hoosiers, shooting 19-25 from the field with four rebounds.
Crooks earned her latest Big 12 Player of the Week citation Monday as the Cyclones climbed to No. 10 nationally.
Currie-Jelks Dominates Daytona Beach Classic
Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, Murray State
Currie-Jelks, a 6-2 junior forward from Jackson, Tenn., and Indiana transfer, powered Murray State (5-2) to the Daytona Beach Classic title in Florida with victories over Atlantic 10 tournament champion George Mason (88-83) and Boston College (82-77).
The forward averaged 27.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, scoring 32 points with 11 boards against the Patriots (9-14 FG, 14-16 FT), followed by 23 points and 10 rebounds against the Eagles (8-13 FG). Combined, she shot 62.9 percent from the field (17-27) and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line (21-24).
Currie-Jelks earned both Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week honors on Monday.
Jaquez Leads UCLA Bounce-Back, Topples Tennessee
Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA
Jaquez, a 6-0 senior guard-forward from Camarillo, Calif., rebounded from a four-point performance in the Players Era opening loss to Texas with dominant showings against Duke and Tennessee.
Against Duke, the then-No. 3 Bruins (8-1) rolled to an 89-59 victory behind Jaquez’s 23 points, five rebounds, and 8-16 shooting, including 3-5 from three-point range. Back home at Pauley Pavilion, she delivered 29 points, three assists, three rebounds, and two steals on 10-14 shooting (5-6 from deep) to end then-No. 14 Tennessee’s five-game winning streak, 89-59.
UCLA slipped only to No. 4 in Monday’s AP Poll, and Jaquez earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
Nivar Records Historic Triple-Double for North Carolina
Indya Nivar, North Carolina
Nivar, a 5-10 senior guard from Apex, N.C., led No. 11 North Carolina (8-1) to a 3-0 run and the Cancun Challenge-Mayan Division title in Mexico with victories over South Dakota State, Kansas State, and Columbia.
In the opener against South Dakota State, Nivar recorded 13 points, 12 rebounds, 10 steals, and five assists for the second triple-double in program history, shooting 6-11 from the field. She followed with 14 points, seven assists, and four steals (5-7 FG) against Kansas State, then added 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, and six steals against Columbia.
The championship game reunited Tar Heels coach Courtney Banghart with Megan Griffith, her former Princeton assistant. Nivar earned Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week honors on Monday. North Carolina faces Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Francis Earns Emerald Coast Classic MVP
Madison Francis, Mississippi State (Freshman of the Week)
Francis, a 6-2 freshman forward from Lancaster, N.Y., led Mississippi State (7-1) to the Emerald Coast Classic Bay Bracket title in Niceville, Fla., earning tournament MVP honors.
Against Alcorn State, Francis scored 15 points (6-6 FT) with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a 65-51 victory. In the championship game against Middle Tennessee, she delivered a career-high 17 points (7-11 FG) with six blocks and six rebounds in a 69-47 win.
Back home in Starkville on Sunday, Francis added eight points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals in a 66-54 victory over ULM.
USBWA News:
- UConn’s Fudd, Utah State’s Collins Lead USBWA Weekly Honors; Rhode Island Upsets No. 16 NC State
- Iowa State’s Crooks Headlines USBWA Women’s Weekly Honors for Second Consecutive Week
- USBWA Announces 2025-26 Oscar Robertson Trophy and Wayman Tisdale Award Preseason Watch Lists
Texas Surges to No. 2 with Players’ Era Sweep
Texas (Team of the Week)
The Longhorns (8-0) vaulted from No. 4 to No. 2 in the AP Poll after sweeping the Players Era championship in Las Vegas. Defeating then-No. 3 UCLA (76-65) and then-No. 2 South Carolina (66-64) before returning home to beat Penn (81-63).
Against UCLA, the Longhorns led by 23 points late in the third quarter behind Rori Harmon’s 26 points, Madison Booker’s 16 points, and seven rebounds. Jordan Lee added 13 points. In the thriller against South Carolina, Lee scored 19 points, while Harmon hit the game-winner with one second remaining and dished nine assists to surpass now-Washington State coach Kamie Ethridge as the program’s all-time leader. Harmon earned tournament MVP honors.
Back in Austin against Penn, Booker recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Texas moved ahead of Stanford to second all-time with 647 AP Poll appearances, trailing only Tennessee (799). UConn ranks fourth at 644. The Longhorns also tied former Big 12 rival Baylor for sixth in Top 10 appearances with 326.
ACC/SEC Challenge Looms
Feast Week delivered memorable moments, but Wednesday and Thursday’s ACC/SEC Challenge features a slate of ranked teams from two Power 4 conferences, including several recent AP Poll regulars.
Among Thursday’s marquee matchups, No. 5 LSU visits Duke. The Tigers have reached 100 points in all eight games, setting an NCAA record previously held by Louisiana Tech’s 6-0 start en route to the first NCAA title in 1981-82, when current LSU coach Kim Mulkey played for the Lady Techsters.
Short of national champion UConn, the Players Era championship in Las Vegas delivered a 75 percent reunion of last season’s Final Four in Tampa, with three of those teams currently ranked in the Top 5.
USBWA Awards Background
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 was named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale. The national and weekly freshman award honors former Tennessee All-American Tamika Catchings, applied starting in the 2019-20 season.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for both individual awards, voted on by the entire USBWA membership.
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 at the 2025-26 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Phoenix.
2025-26 USBWA Women’s Weekly Honors
Week ending Nov. 9: National: Meghan Andersen (Fairfield), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Liv McGill (Florida), Taliah Scott (Baylor), Fadima Tall (Princeton) Freshman: Jazzy Davidson (USC) Team: UConn
Week ending Nov. 16: National: Zanai Barnett-Gay (Navy), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Olivia Olson (Michigan), Sayvia Sellers (Washington), Sydney Shaw (West Virginia) Freshman: Addi Mack (Maryland) Team: UCLA
Week ending Nov. 23: National: Maggie Doogan (Richmond), Azzi Fudd (UConn), Ava Heiden (Iowa), Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina), Clara Strack (Kentucky) Freshman: Lara Somfai (Stanford) Team: Rhode Island
Week ending Nov. 30: National: Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Sharnecce Currie-Jelks (Murray State), Gabriela Jaquez (UCLA), Indya Nivar (North Carolina) Freshman: Madison Francis (Mississippi State)Team: Texas
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