It didn’t take much time. A Top 10 upset helped lead to the opening day of the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season. number 7 duke blue devilsLast season, the Elite Eight team fell 58-52 to No. 16 boiler beer In the opening Oi-Play doubleheader in Paris.
Then one of the brightest stars of last season’s freshman class, Mikayla BlakesPicked up from where she left off and reached number 19 Vanderbilt Commodore Above California Golden Bear 75-65. His 27-point effort in OE play marked the 11th game of 25 points or more in his career, which included two 50-plus-point outings last season.
Last season’s final four South Carolina, texas And UCLA All information later on Monday, and the defending national champions Yukon Its season opens Tuesday vs. louisville (ESPN, 5:30 p.m. ET). Here’s a look at Opening Day and what’s to come for the Huskies from ESPN’s Alexa Filippo, Charlie Cream and Michael Voepel.
How did you do it talia scott Watch his return from injury and his Baylor debut?
Cream: Baylor has lacked a true scorer the past two seasons and Scott, a transfer from Auburn, is expected to change that. If Monday was any indication, he’s off to a good start. Scott not only led the Bears in scoring, but he performed well when Baylor needed him most – in the crunch of a close game. Scott scored half of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Bears went ahead, and his free throw shooting (8 of 10 for the game) capped a Blue Devils comeback in the final minutes.
If Scott can stay healthy, which was his biggest issue at Arkansas and Auburn, the Bears have one of the top scorers in the Big 12 and a player to make big shots in key moments.
Vopel: Baylor coach Nikki Collen said coming into this season she expected Scott to make a big impact right away, and he did that on Monday. Collen called Scott “a professional scorer”, comparing her to Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams and former WNBA player Renee Montgomery.
Colen said Scott can consistently find “slices of space” to attack and get to the rim, but he can also hit pull-up jump shots and 3-pointers. As Charlie said, injuries have been Scott’s biggest concern. In 20 games as a freshman at Arkansas, he averaged 22.1 points, then played in only three games last season at Auburn before going out due to a wrist injury.
Points were at a premium against Duke, which is to be expected. The Bears shot 31.7% from the field, the Blue Devils shot 29%. Someone needed to step up aggressively to decide the game, and it was Scott.
How close did Duke look to the team that won the ACC Tournament and made the Elite Eight?
Vopel: Maybe the Blue Devils wanted to take a look offensively, given their scoring struggles that were repeated Monday in Birmingham 2 Regional. In March, he scored 47 points in defeating North Carolina in the Sweet 16, then scored 50 points in a loss to South Carolina in the Elite Eight.
On the positive side, the Duke defense looked similar to last season, despite some personnel changes this season. This will continue to be a major strength for Duke, which held opponents to 56.5 ppg last season, including 48.0 in the postseason (three ACC Tournament and four NCAA Tournament games). But the need for reform will have to be addressed aggressively.
does toby fournier Looks like she’s ready to take the next step as a sophomore?
Cream: If Duke can get 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks from Fournier every game, Lawson will likely sign up for it. Fournier averaged 13.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg last season. But if Duke’s offensive struggles continue, the Blue Devils may need even more from the 6-foot-2 sophomore.
Although there was production, there was no efficiency. Shooting 52.6% a season ago, Fournier was 5 of 15 from the field against Baylor and missed 5 of 11 free throw attempts. With Duke struggling to score, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity. That means Fournier’s shooting is at a higher percentage. It’s a lot to ask of any one player to be better than Fournier’s performance on Monday, but with a challenging non-conference schedule and the ACC Gauntlet, Duke needs to score more — and Fournier is a big part of that.
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Mikayla Blakes played great defensive play to get the steal.
Mikayla Blakes played great defensive play to get the steal.
What should we expect from the Vanderbilt Blacks this season?
Vopel: More like that. After averaging 23.3 ppg in his first season at Vanderbilt, he had a stellar summer and led Team USA to the AmeriCup title in Chile. On Monday, the Commodores trailed Cal by two points at halftime, but then took the game by outscoring the Bears 24–9 in the third quarter.
Blake was 9 of 27 from the field and 7 of 10 from the line in 40 minutes. He led Vanderbilt in minutes played last season, averaging 32.2. with forward Khamil PierreVandy’s second-leading scorer last season, Blake has even more responsibility on his shoulders this season after transferring to NC State.
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What to watch before the women’s college basketball season
Kendra Andrews previews the biggest storylines in women’s college basketball ahead of the start of the season.
What’s the biggest thing you’re looking forward to from UConn’s First Tuesday?
Cream: What will the Huskies’ rotation look like?
It will be interesting to see how Geno Auriemma utilizes all of his depth: A talented freshman class led by blanca quinonezeffect transfer sera williams And kayle heckelstars sarah strong And azy fad And a group of experienced role players.
how many times will it happen Jana El Alfi Or ice brady Join Strong and Williams to form a bigger lineup? keke arnold And ashlyn shade Started in the backcourt with Fudd in two of the Huskies’ exhibition games. How will the distribution of minutes work between those two and Heckel? What role does quinonease play? What impact can it have? Caroline Ducharme Have you felt that way after missing most of the last two seasons?
These questions won’t be fully answered against the Cardinals, but what happens on Tuesday will begin to shape the rest of the season.
Philippou: How Sarah Strong and Azie Fad look at the beginning of the season.
The way Strong started her collegiate career last season suggests she could become one of the greatest players to ever come through the Storrs. What will Year 2 look like for him? Fudd, the Huskies’ other All-America candidate, enters this campaign as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, but can he put together his most impressive — and consistent — season in his final assignment at UConn?
Voepel: How Williams adjusts to a bigger role and the spotlight.
Williams averaged 16.4 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 51.5% from the field in 91 games over three seasons at Wisconsin. But the Badgers are one of the least successful power conference programs in women’s hoops over the past two decades: their only NCAA Tournament appearance in the past 23 years came in 2010. So Williams did not receive much publicity in his college career, which changes dramatically at UConn. We’ll start finding out Tuesday how she’ll handle the investigation, how big her role will be and just how good of a WNBA prospect she is.
