Alexis Markowski is off to a solid start for the Huskers.
Nebraska women’s basketball star Alexis Markowski was named to the Preseason Women’s Top 50 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award. This news was confirmed on Thursday per a release from the athletic department.
The award is given annually to that season’s most outstanding men’s and women’s basketball players.
Markowski would undoubtedly fit the bill for the Huskers. She had a tremendous year last year, averaging 15.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. She has also made her way into the Nebraska women’s basketball record books. She has 41 double-doubles, which are the most in program history.
Markowski is one of the most decorated players in Nebraska women’s basketball history. Her play will undoubtedly be crucial to the program’s success this season.
So far this season, she has been averaging 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game on 87.5% shooting.
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The Washington Huskies will retire No. 10 for the program’s all-time leading scorer, Kelsey Plum.
On Friday, the Washington Huskies announced they will retire Kelsey Plum’s number 10 and make her the first women’s basketball player to have her jersey hang from the rafters. The “Forever 10” celebration will kick off homecoming weekend at Husky Stadium on Saturday, with the jersey retirement set for Jan 18, 2025, at Alaska Airlines Arena.
“I’m forever proud to be a Husky, and UW is a special place that fundamentally shaped me both as a basketball player and as a person,” Plum said in a press release. “It means the world to me to receive this honor and to celebrate it with my family, friends, and alumni. It will be a great feeling to look up at the rafters and see my jersey alongside those that I’ve admired for so long.”
Plum was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft, making her the first overall pick in Washington basketball history. She ranks as the No. 2 scorer in women’s college basketball history, only behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, and won back-to-back WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022 and 2023.
She also played with Team USA in 2020, winning a gold medal in the 3-on-3 tournament and then winning gold again with the 5-on-5 team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Kelsey is one of the great basketball players of all time, and she’s a UW legend,” Washington athletic director Pat Chun said. “An Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion, Kelsey has inspired fans worldwide and countless young basketball players and student-athletes. We’re so fortunate to have Kelsey in the Husky family and honored to celebrate her as one of the greatest to wear the Purple and Gold. We look forward to January and raising that banner with her name on it to the rafters where it belongs.”
Notre Dame has placed three women’s basketball players on a key watch list.
[autotag]Liza Karlen [/autotag], [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] are all on the watch list for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award.
Graduate student Karlen averaged 17.7 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game as a senior at Marquette last season, started in all 32 games and was a unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team.
King, who comes to Notre Dame as a graduate student and played at Pittsburgh as a senior, averaged 18.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She also had 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Westbeld, also a graduate, had 14.4 points per game 8.7 rebounds per game for Notre Dame last season, making 34 starts.
The award is named after Hall of Famer Katrina McClain-Pittman. The retired McClain won two Olympic gold medals and one Olympic bronze and was a two-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. The award is given to the best power forward in the country.
Mar 29, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Maddy Westbeld (21) shoots a jump shot against Oregon State Beavers forward Timea Gardiner (30) during the first half in the semifinals of the Albany Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the MVP Arena at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
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Notre Dame has three women on the Naismith Player of the Year list.
Notre Dame has three women’s basketball players on the Naismith Trophy Women’s Player of the Year Watch List.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame made the announcement Monday that Sonia Citron, Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles are on the watch list.
The 50-player list includes the nation’s top players, and very few teams have more than three players on it.
Citron averaged 17.3 points per game and played 35.8 minutes a game on average. That’s fourth in Notre Dame history and head coach Niele Ivey called her the team’s “glue.”
She was also All-ACC Second Team last season.
Hidalgo is a pre-season AP All-American and last season averaged 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.6 steals per game. She led the country in steals.
Miles, meanwhile, is coming back from a torn ACL. The 2023 ACC Player of the Year runner-up averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game during her junior season.
Feb 24, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Olivia Miles (5) dribbles as Clemson Tigers guard Madi Ott (30) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
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Washington earned a 2025 commitment from Sienna Harvey, an Australian point guard with a wealth of international experience, on Thursday.
Tina Langley and her coaching staff have the Washington Huskies prepped for the 2025 season.
Washington already has three top 100 recruits set to come to Montlake next year – five-star Brynn McGaughy and four-stars Nina Cain and Bryn Martin. McGaughy and Cain are expected to play on the wing for Washington, while Martin is a guard out of Ohio who profiles as a shooter.
On Thursday, Washington added a point guard with a wealth of international experience, earning a commitment from Australian Sienna Harvey. A 5-foot-9 point guard, Harvey has played for a strong Australian national team in international competition since 2022, when she debuted in the U16 Women’s Asia Cup and U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Harvey has also appeared for Australia in the U17 Women’s Oceania Championship and the U18 Women’s Asia Cup, held earlier this year in Shenzhen, China. She averaged 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in that tournament to help Australia to a spot in the 2025 U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.
A former gymnast who lists Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving as her primary influence on the court, Harvey’s extensive international experience makes her a contender to play right away when she arrives at Washington. The Huskies will have to find minutes to give her, however, as the current starting backcourt of Elle Ladine and Sayvia Sellers both still have eligibility in 2025 in addition to Martin.
Harvey is not ranked as a recruit by ESPN, which only provides ratings for domestic players. But that may end up working to Washington’s advantage, as Harvey could blossom into a diamond in the rough the same way fellow Australian Sami Whitcomb did for the Huskies.
They look to build on their success from the 2023-24 season. The Huskers made it to the second round of the 2024 NCAA tournament and played in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. They finished with a 23-12 record overall.
This year’s squad features a nice mix of youth and returning talent. Alexis Markowski should be able to provide the Huskers with stability. Other players are trying to make their mark, such as freshman Britt Prince. She joins the program after a decorated high school career that included her winning the Nebraska High School Player of the Year Award twice.
All told, the Huskers return a balanced roster that figures to be one of the best in the Big Ten once again. This should be a deep roster for coach Amy Williams.
Rank
School (Last Year’s Record)
Points
First Place Votes
1
South Carolina (38-0)
770
27
2
Connecticut (33-6)
734
3
3
Southern California (29-6)
716
1
4
Texas (33-5)
670
–
5
Notre Dame (28-7)
629
–
6
UCLA (27-7)
612
–
7
LSU (31-6)
567
–
8
North Carolina State (31-7)
533
–
9
Iowa State (21-12)
487
–
10
Oklahoma (23-10)
457
–
11
Duke (22-12)
449
–
12
Baylor (26-8)
434
–
13
Kansas State (26-8)
407
–
14
Ohio State (26-6)
405
–
15
West Virginia (25-8)
285
–
16
North Carolina (20-13)
263
–
17
Louisville (24-10)
261
–
18
Maryland (19-14)
254
–
19
Florida State (23-11)
177
–
20
Creighton (26-6)
150
–
21
Mississippi (24-9)
135
–
22
Kentucky (12-20)
106
–
23
Nebraska (23-12)
92
–
24
Indiana (26-6)
75
–
25
Alabama (24-10)
57
–
[lawrence-related id=31480]
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They will be led by Madison Booker who has been named an AP All-American by the Associated Press
With the women’s college basketball season quickly approaching, expectations are high for the Texas Longhorns. They will be led by Madison Booker who has been named a preseason All-American by the Associated Press. She is coming off an impressive freshman season, which has built optimism for the future.
During the 2023-2024 campaign, Booker appeared in 37 games and averaged 16.5 points. The talented forward also made an impact on the boards, averaging five rebounds a game. As she played a crucial role in helping the Longhorns win 33 games, Booker became the first freshman in the history of Big 12 women’s basketball to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year.
While the Germantown High School product excelled in the regular season, she took her game to another level in the postseason. She led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Championship and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. In tournament play, Booker averaged 21.3 points, four rebounds, and five assists a game.
Now that Booker has one year of experience under her belt, she should be even better this season. She will also have some help from Rori Harmon, who is healthy after missing being limited to 12 games during the 2023-2024 campaign due to a knee injury.
As the Associated Press showed earlier this week, the Longhorns already have a star in Booker, ready to take this team to new heights.
Florida’s women’s basketball program has some work to do if it wants to crack the top 25 this season while the SEC is well represented in the poll.
The preseason edition of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll for college women’s basketball was released on Thursday, and much to the chagrin of the Gator Nation, Florida failed to receive any votes.
Last season, the Lady Gators finished 16-16 overall with just a 5-11 record in Southeastern Conference play. Entering the SEC Tournament as a No. 11 seed, they managed to win the first two games — against the 14th-seeded Missouri Tigers and sixth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores — but succame to the third-seeded Ole Miss Rebels in the quarterfinals.
Florida was bounced from the Women’s Basketball Invitational in the first round by the St. John’s Red Storm in the O’Connell Center to end the campaign.
SEC teams in preseason Coaches Poll
The conference is represented by seven schools among the top 25, headlined by the reigning national champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, in the top perch, followed by the newly added Texas Longhorns at No. 4 and Oklahoma Sooners at No. 10. The LSU Tigers are sandwiched between the two neophytes at No. 7.
Gonzaga 49; TCU 37; Tennessee 32; Stanford 32; Iowa 28; Utah 25; South Dakota State 22; Oregon State 21; Princeton 18; Colorado 15; Virginia Tech 10; Illinois 9; Middle Tennessee 8; Fairfield 7; Richmond 6; California 6; Auburn 5; UNLV 4; Miami (FL) 4; FGCU 4; South Florida 3; George Mason 2; Saint Joseph’s 1; Michigan 1; Cleveland State 1
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The USA TODAY Sports preseason women’s basketball coaches poll was released on Thursday. South Carolina, UConn, and USC are leading the way.
The NCAA women’s basketball season will officially tip-off on Monday, Nov. 4. Caitlin Clark might not be on the hardwood at the collegiate level this season but there is still plenty of exciting action that will take place. It will be up to players like JuJu Watkins of the USC Trojans to carry the torch this season.
The defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks check in with the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll after finishing with a perfect 38-0 record under Dawn Staley. It was the first time she achieved perfection after coming close in 2020 and 2023 where South Carolina finished with just one loss in each of those seasons. 2020 ended early when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19 and the 2023 team’s run at perfection was ended by Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Final Four.
South Carolina is joined by six other teams in the SEC to give them seven altogether. The Gamecocks edged out the UConn Huskies and USC Trojans for the top spot by a substantial margin. These three teams were the only ones to earn first-place votes. UConn will welcome back Paige Bueckers who bypassed the WNBA draft for another run at the title.
2024-25 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank
School (Last Year’s Record)
Points
First Place Votes
1
South Carolina (38-0)
770
27
2
Connecticut (33-6)
734
3
3
Southern California (29-6)
716
1
4
Texas (33-5)
670
–
5
Notre Dame (28-7)
629
–
6
UCLA (27-7)
612
–
7
LSU (31-6)
567
–
8
North Carolina State (31-7)
533
–
9
Iowa State (21-12)
487
–
10
Oklahoma (23-10)
457
–
11
Duke (22-12)
449
–
12
Baylor (26-8)
434
–
13
Kansas State (26-8)
407
–
14
Ohio State (26-6)
405
–
15
West Virginia (25-8)
285
–
16
North Carolina (20-13)
263
–
17
Louisville (24-10)
261
–
18
Maryland (19-14)
254
–
19
Florida State (23-11)
177
–
20
Creighton (26-6)
150
–
21
Mississippi (24-9)
135
–
22
Kentucky (12-20)
106
–
23
Nebraska (23-12)
92
–
24
Indiana (26-6)
75
–
25
Alabama (24-10)
57
–
Others receiving votes:
Gonzaga (32-4) 49; TCU (21-12) 37; Stanford (30-6) 32; Tennessee (20-13) 32; Iowa (34-5) 28; Utah (23-11) 25; South Dakota State (27-6) 22; Oregon State (27-8) 21; Princeton (25-5) 18; Colorado (24-10) 15; Virginia Tech (25-8) 10; Illinois (19-15) 9; Middle Tennessee (30-5) 8; Fairfield (31-2) 7; California (19-15) 6; Richmond (29-6) 6; Auburn (20-12) 5; Florida Gulf Coast (29-5) 4; Miami (Fla.) (19-12) 4; UNLV (30-3) 4; South Florida (19-14) 3; George Mason (23-8) 2; Cleveland State (29-6) 1; Michigan (20-14) 1; Saint Joseph’s (28-6)
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2024-25 season: Ashleen Bracey, Illinois-Chicago; Jen Brown, Queens University; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green; Janell Crayton Del Rosario, Bethune-Cookman; Denise Dillon, Villanova; Carrie Eighmey, South Dakota; Dalila Eshe, Yale; Heather Ezell, Wyoming; Bill Fennelly, Iowa State; Cindy Fisher, San Diego; Aqua Franklin, Lamar; Ty Grace, Howard; Hana Haden, Georgia Southern; Johnnie Harris, Auburn; Brian Holsinger, Montana; Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee; Renee Jimenez, UC Santa Barbara; Chris Kielsmeier, Cleveland State; Mike Lane, NJIT; Amy Mallon, Drexel; Mike McGuire, Radford; Kim McNeill, East Carolina; Lynn Milligan, Rider; Dan Nielson, Utah Valley; Shawn Poppie, Clemson; Samantha Quigley Smith, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Missy Traversi, Army; Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina; Way Veney, Central Connecticut State; Coquese Washington, Rutgers.
Nebraska women’s basketball is ranked in the top 25.
Nebraska women’s basketball is ranked 23rd in the preseason AP top 25. They are joining a slew of Big Ten teams in the process.
USC is the highest-rated team, at No.3 overall, while UCLA is No. 5. The Ohio State Buckeyes are No. 14, Maryland is No. 18 and Indiana is No. 25.
The Huskers are looking to build on what they accomplished last year. They finished the season with a 23-12 record and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. This year’s squad features many returners and a talented freshman class that includes Britt Prince.
The Huskers have the depth and talent to make another run at the NCAA tournament in the 2024-25 campaign. Coach Amy Williams’s steadfast presence will be important in a crowded Big Ten conference.
Nebraska women's basketball is ranked No. 23 in the preseason AP Top 25.
The Big Ten teams:
3. USC 5. UCLA 14. Ohio State 18. Maryland 23. Nebraska 25. Indiana RV. Iowa RV. Illinois RV. Michigan State
