Monday night's NCAA Big East basketball final saw No. 3 UConn lift their fifth straight trophy, winning the conference tournament title with a 70-50 defeat of No. 22 Creighton.

Star senior Paige Bueckers led the Huskies' charge, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a pair each of blocks and steals.

Freshman Sarah Strong also showed out with her third straight double-double, registering 13 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, six steals, and three blocks.

Notably, Bueckers made UConn history with the win, exiting her college career with a perfect 66-0 conference record and becoming the first-ever Husky to win three Most Outstanding Player awards at the Big East tournament in the process.

"For her to be able to constantly come up with these kind of performances, time and time again, she just has that thing that those kinds of players have," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma after the game.

UConn now holds a record 30 conference tournament titles — eight more than any other Division I program.

"We have a belief system in our program that this is the expectation," explained Auriemma. "I truly believe that the higher you set expectations, the closer you get to achieving those. And we have tremendously high expectations every year, those never go away. And some years you fall short, but most times we don't."

NCAA conference tournaments impact AP Poll rankings

Thanks to their command of the Big East, UConn became to the only Top 15 team to hold steady in Monday afternoon's AP Poll update, as the Top 25 list saw significant shifts in the lead-up to Selection Sunday.

After defeating USC for the Big Ten tournament title on Sunday, UCLA earned a three-spot rise to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, while their rival Trojans fell from No. 2 to No. 4 with the loss.

Meanwhile, South Carolina rose from No. 5 to No. 2 after downing former No. 1 Texas in Sunday's SEC finale, putting the defending NCAA champs in a neck-and-neck race with the Bruins for the No. 1 overall seed in this year's national tournament.

The Longhorns now clock in at No. 5, despite still being a likely candidate for one of Sunday's four No. 1 seeds.

Making history just behind Texas are Big 12 champions TCU, whose two-spot leap to No. 6 gave the Horned Frogs their highest-ever ranking.

The Top 10's biggest climber, however, was Duke, who jumped four spots to No. 7 after their title-winning upset run through the ACC tournament.

At the same time, once-No. 1 Notre Dame's slide continued, with the Irish dropping two more spots to No. 8 after exiting their conference tournament in the semifinal round.

Rounding out the Top 10 are ACC tournament runners-up NC State, who fell two spots to No. 9, and SEC semifinalist No. 10 LSU, whose one spot drop comes after injuries to the team's two top scorers hindered the Tigers' conference tournament play.

AP NCAA Basketball Top 25: Week 19

1. UCLA (30-2, Big Ten)
2. South Carolina (30-3, SEC)
3. UConn (31-3, Big East)
4. USC (28-3, Big Ten)
5. Texas (31-3, SEC)
6. TCU (31-3, Big 12)
7. Duke (26-7, ACC)
8. Notre Dame (26-5, ACC)
9. NC State (26-6, ACC)
10. LSU (28-5, SEC)
11. Oklahoma (25-7, SEC)
12. North Carolina (27-7, ACC)
13. Kentucky (22-7, SEC)
14. Baylor (27-7, Big 12)
15. Ohio State (25-6, Big Ten)
16. West Virginia (24-7, Big 12)
17. Oklahoma State (25-6, Big 12)
18. Maryland (23-7, Big Ten)
19. Kansas State (26-7, Big 12)
20. Tennessee (22-9, SEC)
21. Alabama (23-8, SEC)
22. Creighton (26-6, Big East)
23. Florida State (23-8, ACC)
24. South Dakota State (26-3, Summit League)
25. Ole Miss (20-10, SEC)

The AP Women's College Basketball Poll turns 50 next year, and the publication began celebrating its rankings run a few months early by asking 13 former players and AP sportswriters to fill an All-Time team roster with the NCAA's best.

First Team honors went to USC legend Cheryl Miller, UConn greats Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi, all-time leading NCAA scorer and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark, and position-defining Tennessee forward Candace Parker.

Standout Huskies Sue Bird and Maya Moore also snagged AP All-Time nods, earning Second Team spots alongside Virginia star guard Dawn Staley, Tennessee forward and three-time national champion Chamique Holdsclaw, and three-time AIAW champion and MVP Lusia Harris from Delta State.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Even the AP list's reserves are full of legends, with basketball pioneers like Kansas star Lynette Woodard and UCLA's Ann Meyers Drysdale joining Lisa Leslie (USC) and Sheryl Swoopes (Texas Tech) as well as current WNBA superstars A'ja Wilson (South Carolina) and Brittney Griner (Baylor) on the All-Time bench.

"Being named an AP All-American is one of the most storied honors in college sports," Clark said in response to her AP All-Time First Team nod. "It's fun to think about what it would have been like if we all played together."

"What an accomplishment and what an honor," said fellow First Team honoree Taurasi. "There's so many great women who paved the way."

With the October 31st WNBA CBA deadline looming, ESPN recently conducted an anonymous survey of team owners, executives, players, and other insiders about the simmering tensions between athletes and league leadership in the wake of Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier's viral exit interview last month.

"Once you have that kind of fighting with your best players, it's a death spiral," a team executive told ESPN after fans booed commissioner Cathy Engelbert at this year's WNBA Finals.

"Change is a must," another exec said in the anonymous WNBA survey. "Either Cathy has to change how she relates to the players, or there has to be a change in that role."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

That said, not everyone agreed, with one owner saying, "If you fire her now, it's admitting weakness. It's a terrible look for the league. I can't stand what [Collier] did. That was a private conversation. It makes me not want to fire [Engelbert] — even though I think she should be."

CBA negotiations have also remained frosty this month, with Las Vegas Aces star guard Chelsea Gray telling ESPN that the talks are "not where we thought and wanted to be at this point in time. It's market share, it's salaries, it's player safety, it's everything."

With the parties still reportedly far from a deal, the threat of a work stoppage next season hangs over the stalled proceedings.

"I don't think it's going to be done by Halloween," a league source told ESPN. "[But] in the end, a work stoppage doesn't benefit anybody."

Just one ticket to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs remains unpunched after four different clubs clinched postseason berths over the weekend.

The No. 4 Seattle Reign clinched with a 2-1 win over the No. 12 Utah Royals on Friday before the No. 5 San Diego Wave emphatically slammed the door with a 6-1 Saturday drubbing of the No. 14 Chicago Stars, while the No. 6 Portland Thorns joined the postseason party with a 2-0 Sunday win over No. 11 Angel City.

As for No. 7 Gotham FC, a tense 2-2 draw with No. 8 Louisville propelled the Bats to their third consecutive postseason appearance on Sunday, leaving Racing still poised to earn a club-first playoff spot with a post-international break win.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The newly clinched quartet will join the previously postseason-bound No. 1 Kansas City Current, No. 2 Washington Spirit, and No. 3 Orlando Pride in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

Only one team — No. 9 North Carolina — can challenge Louisville for the eighth and final berth, as weekend results saw both the No. 10 Houston Dash and No. 11 Angel City eliminated while the Courage took down No. 13 Bay FC 4-1 on Friday to remain in contention.

In order to snag that eighth spot, however, North Carolina will need a 2025 Decision Day win over Gotham — plus a Louisville loss or draw against Bay FC.

"The reality is, we are still in control of our destiny with one game to go," Racing captain Janine Sonis said on Sunday. "[It's] not like us to not to keep things interesting."

With one postseason spot and the majority of the 2025 Playoffs seeding still up for grabs, the NWSL is gearing up for yet another game-changing Decision Day on November 2nd.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current hit an unexpected skid on Saturday, when the 2025 NWSL Shield-winners suffered a 1-0 upset loss to the No. 10 Houston Dash — and lost their star striker, Temwa Chawinga, to injury along the way.

Despite leading the match in shots, shots on goal, and possession, the defeat snapped the Current's 17-game unbeaten streak, leaving the club one result short of setting a new franchise record.

"Sometimes things like this will happen," Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski said postgame. "You're going to dominate, you're going to do everything well, but you're not going to score a goal…. I'm glad it happened now and not two games from now."

The loss stings, but with the top postseason berth already secured, Kansas City's concern turns to their 2024 MVP after Chawinga exited the match with a non-contact injury.

A knock to the upper right leg saw the Malawi international wheeled off the pitch in the 29th minute, with Andonovski later clarifying that it was not a knee injury.

Considered a frontrunner to repeat as both NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner, the 27-year-old leads the league in scoring this season with 15 goals over 23 appearances.

While Kansas City is still awaiting a specific diagnosis for their star striker, time could be on the Current's side, as this week's international break gives Chawinga a moment to rest before her club closes out their 2025 NWSL regular season — and, more importantly, takes aim at a championship run.

How to watch the next Kansas City Current match

The league-leading Current will be back in action on NWSL Decision Day, with Kansas City closing out their 2025 regular-season campaign by hosting the No. 5 San Diego Wave on Sunday, November 2nd.

The time and broadcast details for the 2025 season's Decision Day will drop at a later date at NWSLSoccer.com.