Multiple Contributors
Nov 3, 2025, 05:07 PM ET
That didn't take long. A top-10 upset helped tip off the opening day of the 2025-26 women's college basketball season. The No. 7 Duke Blue Devils, an Elite Eight team last spring, fell 58-52 to the No. 16 Baylor Bears in the opener of the Oui-Play doubleheader in Paris.
Then one of the brightest stars of last year's freshman class, Mikayla Blakes, picked up where she left off, leading the No. 19 Vanderbilt Commodores over the California Golden Bears 75-65. Her 27-point effort in Oui-Play marked her 11th career game of 25 points or more, including two 50-plus point outings last season.
Last season's Final Four participants South Carolina, Texas and UCLA all tip off later Monday, and defending national champion UConn will open its season Tuesday vs. Louisville (ESPN, 5:30 p.m. ET). Here's a look at Day 1, and what's coming up for the Huskies, from ESPN's Alexa Philippou, Charlie Creme and Michael Voepel.
How did Taliah Scott look in her return from injury and in her Baylor debut?
Creme: Baylor has lacked a true go-to scorer the last two seasons and Scott, a transfer from Auburn, is expected to change that. If Monday was any indication, she's off to a good start. Not only did Scott lead the Bears in scoring, she delivered when Baylor needed her most -- in crunch time of a close game. Scott scored half of her 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Bears surged ahead, and her free throw shooting (8-of-10 for the game) prevented a Blue Devils comeback in the final minutes.
If Scott can stay healthy, which was her biggest issue at Arkansas and Auburn, the Bears have one of the top scorers in the Big 12 and a player to turn to for a big shot in crucial moments.
Voepel: Baylor coach Nicki Collen said coming into this season that she expected Scott to make a major impact right away, and she did Monday. Collen calls Scott "a professional scorer," comparing her to Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams and former WNBA player Renee Montgomery.
Collen said Scott can consistently find the "slivers of space" to attack and get to the rim, but she also can 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, she averaged 22.1 points, then played just three games last season at Auburn before going out with 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 29%. Someone needed to come up big scoring-wise 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?
Voepel: Maybe closer than the Blue Devils wanted to look offensively, considering their scoring struggles in the Birmingham 2 Regional were repeated Monday. Last March, they scored 47 points in beating North Carolina in the Sweet 16, then 50 in a loss to South Carolina in the Elite Eight.
On the positive side, despite some personnel changes this season, the Duke defense looked a lot like last year. That will continue to be a huge 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 to improve offensively will have to be addressed.
Does Toby Fournier look like she is ready to take the next step as a sophomore?
Creme: If Duke can get 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks out of Fournier every game, Lawson would probably sign up for that. Fournier averaged 13.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG a year ago. But if Duke's offensive struggles continue, the Blue Devils might need even more from the 6-foot-2 sophomore.
While the production was there, the efficiency was not. A 52.6% shooter a season ago, Fournier was 5-of-15 from the field against Baylor and missed five of her 11 free throw attempts. With Duke struggling to score, taking advantage of every opportunity is a must. That means Fournier shooting 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 nonconference schedule and the ACC gauntlet, Duke will have to score more -- and Fournier is a big part of that.
0:18
Mikayla Blakes makes a great defensive play for the steal
Mikayla Blakes makes a great defensive play for the steal
What should we expect from Vanderbilt's Blakes this season?
Voepel: More of the same. After averaging 23.3 PPG in her first season at Vanderbilt, she had an outstanding summer, leading Team USA to the AmeriCup title in Chile. On Monday, the Commodores trailed Cal by two points at halftime, but then took over the game by outscoring the Bears 24-9 in the third quarter.
Blakes was 9-of-27 from the field and 7-of-10 from the line in 40 minutes. She led Vanderbilt in minutes played last season, averaging 32.2. With forward Khamil Pierre, Vandy's second-leading scorer last season, having transferred to NC State, even more is on Blakes' shoulders this season.
1:23
What to watch for ahead of 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 watching in UConn's debut Tuesday?
Creme: What will the Huskies' rotations look like?
It will be intriguing to see how Geno Auriemma uses all of his depth: a talented freshman class led by Blanca Quiñonez, impact transfers Serah Williams and Kayleigh Heckell, stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd and a group of experienced role players.
How often will Jana El Alfy or Ice Brady join Strong and Williams to form a big lineup? KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade got the starts in the backcourt alongside Fudd in the Huskies' two exhibition games. How will the minutes distribution between those two and Heckell work? What role does Quinonez fill? How much impact can Caroline Ducharme have after missing the majority of the last two seasons?
These questions won't be completely answered against the Cardinals, but what happens on Tuesday will begin to shape the rest of the season.
Philippou: How Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd look to begin the season.
The way Strong started her collegiate career last year suggested she could end up being one of the greatest ever to come through Storrs. What does Year 2 look like for her? Fudd, the Huskies' other All-America candidate, enters this campaign as the reigning Final Four Most Outstanding Player, but can she put together her most dominant -- and consistent -- season yet in her final act at UConn?
Voepel: How Williams adjusts to a bigger role and 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 last 23 years came in 2010. So Williams hasn't had much publicity in her college career, which changes dramatically at UConn. We will begin to find out Tuesday how she will handle the scrutiny, how big her role will be and how good a WNBA prospect she is.
