As the 2025/26 Player of the Year race heats up, Tuesday's NCAA women's basketball conference awards teased the front-runners for this year's national honors.
The Big Ten named UCLA center Lauren Betts its Big Ten Player of the Year (PoY) and, for the second season in a row, the Bruins' star also collected the conference's Defensive Player of the Year (DPoY) award.
Also running it back this year is Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, who became the first-ever ACC player to earn both PoY and DPoY in back-to-back seasons. Even more, the junior guard continued her iron grip on the ACC's defensive title — an honor Hidalgo has won in all three of her NCAA seasons.
For the second year in a row, a TCU transfer and a West Virginia standout scored the Big 12's top honors, as Hidalgo's former teammate Olivia Miles took home the conference's PoY title in her first season as a Horned Frog, while Mountaineer senior Jordan Harrison earned the DPoY award.
Meanwhile in the SEC, Vanderbilt sophomore and reigning Division I scoring leader Mikayla Blakes rose to the top of the NCAA's deepest conference to win PoY, while South Carolina's Raven Johnson capped her senior year with the Gamecocks as the SEC's DPoY.
"I just want to do whatever my team needed me to do and put me in that position to be able to win," Blakes said this week.
With a brand-new NCAA basketball PoY guaranteed this year after a March Madness injury benched USC's 2024/25 winner JuJu Watkins for the season, fans can expect UConn stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd to remain in the mix alongside national shortlist leaders Betts, Blakes, and Hidalgo as Big East conference awards emerge later this week.
Texas faces its final Top 5 test of the 2025/26 NCAA basketball regular-season on Thursday night, when the No. 4 Longhorns visit No. 5 Vanderbilt in a blockbuster showdown atop the SEC standings.
Both squads enter the clash with 23-2 overall records and just two conference play losses, with Thursday's winner taking major strides in the regular-season title race.
Fresh off dropping 34 points in Monday's 102-86 win over No. 10 Oklahoma, star Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes enters the matchup on a hot streak, averaging 27 points over her last 10 games.
That said, Texas is riding a streak of its own, racking up five straight SEC wins including a dominant 77-64 bounce-back victory over No. 6 LSU last week.
Notably, Vanderbilt remains unbeaten at home this season, with the Commodores averaging 85.4 points per game while shooting 47.7% from the field at Nashville's Memorial Gymnasium.
To upend the home team, Texas will look to lean on guard Rori Harmon, with the fifth-year playmaker currently averaging 6.6 assists per game while breaking the program's 45-year-old all-time steals record last week.
"I think the SEC is a tough league, and I think it's kind of where I thrive," Harmon said. "I like the physicality."
How to watch Texas vs. Vanderbilt NCAA women's basketball game
The No. 5 Commodores will host the No. 4 Longhorns at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on SEC Network+.
Once-unbeaten Vanderbilt basketball is back in the groove, as the No. 5 Commodores recorded a second straight ranked win on Monday by handing No. 10 Oklahoma an emphatic 102-86 loss.
The Vanderbilt offense exploded for 59 first-half points — the most allowed by the Sooners in any half this season — with the Commodores taking a 26-point second-quarter lead behind sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes's game-high 34 points, marking her third consecutive 30-point performance.
Also joining the Commodores' 30-point club on Monday was guard Aubrey Galvan, with the freshman joining Blakes to become the first Vanderbilt duo to do so in the same game since 1999.
"I'm really proud of them," Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph said afterwards. "What we're trying to do here is just be relentless in our quest to improve… so that we can put ourselves in position not only to win, but ultimately to be the best possible team we can be at the right time."
The Dores' defense also stepped up on Monday as Vanderbilt scored 26 points off turnovers, holding Oklahoma star freshman Aaliyah Chavez to just 14 points on the night — and 0-11 from deep.
Meanwhile, 19 points and 11 rebounds from Sooner center Raegan Beers — her 62nd career double-double — wasn't enough to move the needle as the senior fouled out with 4:26 to go off a season-high six turnovers.
Falling to 5-5 in the SEC basketball standings, Oklahoma will look to make up ground with just six games and two Top 25 opponents left on their 2025/26 regular-season docket.
How to watch Vanderbilt basketball this week
Though the No. 5 Commodores will contend with four ranked teams in their final five regular-season games, Vanderbilt's biggest test left is a Top 5 matchup against No. 4 Texas on Thursday.
The Dores will host the Longhorns at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage airing on SEC Network+.
No. 2 South Carolina shut down No. 5 Vanderbilt in Sunday's top-tier NCAA basketball clash, ending the Commodores' undefeated 2025/26 season by handing the Nashville visitors a 103-74 defeat.
Senior guard Ta'Niya Latson led South Carolina with 21 points, as five Gamecocks finished in the double-digits to offset Vanderbilt star sophomore Mikayla Blakes's 23-point night.
"I'm really impressed that we played connected basketball on both ends," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said following the bounce-back win. "I'm happy we responded to our [Thursday] loss."
The results could significantly impact the SEC standings, where No. 17 Tennessee currently sits in the lead — though six ranked conference opponents, including South Carolina, stand between the Vols and their regular-season finale vs. Vanderbilt.
"We didn't operate the way I know my team can operate," said Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph. "It doesn't get any easier.... This is the SEC."
"There just wasn't an answer today," Ralph continued. "There's a lot we can take from it, but it also doesn't negate the fact that we've been really good up to this point."
How to watch Vanderbilt, South Carolina in action this week
Both teams return to the NCAA court on Thursday, when the No. 5 Commodores will seek redemption against No. 18 Ole Miss at 7:30 PM ET before the No. 2 Gamecocks battle unranked Auburn at 9 PM ET.
Both matchups will air live on the SEC Network.
One of the two remaining undefeated Division I basketball teams could steal the SEC spotlight on Sunday, when No. 5 Vanderbilt takes on a No. 2 South Carolina team reeling from Thursday night's loss — just the second of the Gamecocks' 2025/26 NCAA season.
South Carolina fell 94-82 in overtime to No. 16 Oklahoma, with freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez putting up a game-leading 26 points to fuel the Sooners' upset victory.
"We ran into a team that actually wanted to win more, and they made winning plays, and we didn't," Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley said afterwards.
South Carolina won't have much time to reflect, however, as they prepare to take on a surging Vanderbilt with more than just strong conference records on the line.
Sophomore Mikayla Blakes leads the Commodores with 25.0 points per game, with the standout guard sitting second-overall in DI scoring as Vanderbilt continues their best start in team history.
"I'm having to remind myself that this makes us 20-0 and that's a great thing, right?" Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph said after her squad's 81-53 win over Auburn on Thursday. "The other thing is that I like being in this place where I'm pissed off after a win because we didn't play well today, especially in the first half. I like it because it says that I know how good this team can be."
How to watch Vanderbilt vs. South Carolina this weekend
Barring any additional meteorological disruptions this weekend, the No. 2 Gamecocks will host the unbeaten No. 5 Commodores at 3 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on ESPN.
USA Basketball lifted the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup trophy on Sunday, taking down defending champions Brazil 92-84 to top the tournament's podium for the fifth time.
Pitting a roster of NCAA talent against Brazil pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Team USA battled back from a seven-point third-quarter deficit, then dominated the fourth quarter to send Brazil home with silver medals.
"What a performance by our team," said USA head coach Kara Lawson following the title win. "We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game."
With 27 points in Sunday's championship game, guard Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) set a USA AmeriCup scoring record en route to earning tournament MVP honors.
"This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and to be able to cap it off with a win, a gold medal, and to play alongside such great players and great coaches, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Blakes.
After adding 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in her 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday, guard Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) joined Blakes in representing the USA on the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup All-Star roster.
Booking a spot on the tournament's All-Star second team was US guard Olivia Miles (TCU), whose 50 assists throughout the competition shattered the modern era's previous single-event record of 46.
Along with their gold medals, Sunday's win also gives the US automatic entry into the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they'll look to snag a 12th overall and fifth consecutive world championship.