Women's NCAA basketball: Five things we learned in opening month - ESPN

Feast Week is a wrap. Three top-five teams clashed in Las Vegas. Audi Crooks dropped a school-record 47 points.

One month into the 2025-26 women's college basketball season, we've already seen big-time matchups and outstanding individual performances. But things can change a lot during conference play, which for some leagues will begin this month.

Before then, we look at what we've learned so far on the road to Phoenix.

Last season's Final Four teams — UConn, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA — all have shown they are the favorites to get back to the final weekend of the season. The Longhorns' back-to-back victories against the Bruins and Gamecocks in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas last week was the most impressive accomplishment by a team at this point.

But defending national champion UConn is still holding on to the top spot in the rankings and could be working on another perfect season. Here's what else we know — so far.

Entering the season as the favorite to win national player of the year sets a high bar, especially for a 19-year-old sophomore. Yet, Strong already seems to have burst through that ceiling. The distance between Strong and the next closest contenders — Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, Texas' Madison Booker and UCLA's Lauren Betts — seems to have grown.

The core numbers are great — 18.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 57.1% shooting from the field. But Strong also leads the Huskies in steals (3.4), blocks (2.3) and is shooting 88.9% from the free throw line, which is what sets her apart.

As great as those statistics are, Strong won't lead the country in any particular category. She's too unselfish, her teammates are too good, and UConn has and will win in too many blowouts for Strong to play the