BOISE, Idaho (March 6, 2026) – With the conclusion of the 2025-26 Big Sky Conference women's basketball regular season, the league office has announced its All-Conference Teams and Individual Award Winners as we head into Starch Madness.
The Big Sky All-Conference Teams and Individual Award Winners are voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches. They are not allowed to vote for players on their own team.
Montana State's Taylee Chirrick headlines the awards after being named Most Valuable Player and a unanimous All-Conference First Team member. Chirrick heads into the postseason ranked second in the league in scoring with 17.8 points per game and ranks top-six in the conference in field goal percentage and assists.
Chirrick also defended her Defensive Player of the Year title from a year ago, earning the award for the second consecutive season. The sophomore averaged 4.3 steals per game, over a full steal more than anyone else in the league. Her 124 total steals on the year tied the Big Sky single-season steal record and currently ranks second in the nation.
Regular-season champions, Idaho, claimed three individual awards, led by second-year head coach and Big Sky Coach of the Year Arthur Moreira. Moreira led the Vandals to their first regular-season crown since the 2018-19 season. Idaho is riding a 15-game win streak heading into Starch Madness. The Vandals have not lost a game since January 10
th.
Idaho’s success this season was led by Newcomer of the Year, Kyra Gardner, and Top Reserve, Debora dos Santos. Gardner and dos Santos are two of five Vandals averaging more than 10+ ppg. The duo also got it done on the defensive end as two of the top rebounders in the league, both averaging more than seven rebounds per game.
Northern Arizona’s Naomi White collects Freshman of the Year honors after a stellar rookie campaign. White leads the league in scoring, dropping 20.7 ppg, the highest mark by a freshman in the nation. White opened her collegiate career with six consecutive 20+ point games and 17 on the season. She tallied a career-high 37 points against Weber State.
The third annual All-Defensive Team has also been announced, headlined by Defensive Player of the Year Taylee Chirrick. Kacey Spink, Ana Pinheiro, Benthe Versteeg and Tatum West have also tabbed as All-Defensive Team members.
The full list of All-Conference players and Individual Award Winners can be found below.
Starch Madness
The 2026 Big Sky Men's and Women's Basketball Championships take place March 7-11 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. The tournament champions will receive automatic berths to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
For the 11th-straight season, all Big Sky members will compete in the conference tournament with the field featuring 10 teams for both the men and women in 2026. All games will be available to stream on ESPN+ and the Championship Games will be aired on the ESPN family of networks.
Big Sky Women’s Basketball 2025-26 Individual Award Winners
Most Valuable Player – Taylee Chirrick, Montana State
Newcomer of the Year – Kyra Gardner, Idaho*
Defensive Player of the Year – Taylee Chirrick, Montana State
Top Reserve – Debora dos Santos, Idaho
Freshman of the Year – Naomi White, Northern Arizona
Coach of the Year – Arthur Moreira, Idaho*
* Unanimous Selection
2025-26 Big Sky Women’s Basketball First Team All-Conference
Taylee Chirrick, Montana State*
Naomi White, Northern Arizona
Kyra Gardner, Idaho
Hope Hassmann, Idaho
Addison Harris, Montana State
Kacey Spink, Idaho State
Tasia Jordan, Idaho State
* Unanimous Member of the All-Big Sky First Team
2025-26 Big Sky Women’s Basketball Second Team All-Conference
Benthe Versteeg, Sacramento State
Debora dos Santos, Idaho
Kourtney Grossman, Eastern Washington
Ella Gallatin, Eastern Washington
Avery Waddington, Montana
Tatum West, Northern Colorado
2025-26 Big Sky Women’s Basketball All-Conference Honorable Mention
Neenah George, Northern Colorado
Antoniette Emma-Nnopu, Weber State
Rubi Gray, Sacramento State
Kyleigh Brown, Portland State
Heather Baymon, Northern Colorado
2025-26 Big Sky Women’s Basketball All-Defensive Team
Taylee Chirrick, Montana State (DPOY)
Kacey Spink, Idaho State
Ana Pinheiro, Idaho
Benthe Versteeg, Sacramento State
Tatum West, Northern Colorado