Whalen averaged 16.7 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three assists as the Lady Blazers went 3-0 last including a 2-0 mark in GSC play. The junior capped the 2025 portion of the schedule with a 13-point, 13-rebound effort while playing 24 minutes in a blowout win over Fort Lauderdale. She then began the new year collecting 17 boards and scored 19 points with six assists and four steals in an 83-57 win over Mississippi College. Whalen end the week by notching an 18-point performance in a 70-62 win over Delta State. This is Whalen’s second GSC time named GSC Player of the Week this season and the first since since Nov. 18.
Whalen was eventually named the Division II Women's Basketball National Player of the Week as presented by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and NCAA Division II Conference Information Directors Association (D2CIDA). As a result, she became the first-ever WBCA/D2CIDA National Player of the Week recipient from either Valdosta State or the GSC, and was the conference's first women's basketball national weekly awardee since West Florida's Jaclyn Jarnot (Dec. 13, 2022).