Women’s college basketball rankings: Gonzaga remains No. 17 in AP Top 25 poll (1/30/23)

Two wins at home weren't enough to improve Gonzaga's ranking in this week's AP poll

The Gonzaga women’s basketball team stayed put at No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday.

The Zags (21-2, 11-0 WCC) received 11 more points than last week’s poll after defending their home floor against Loyola Marymount on Thursday and Pepperdine on Saturday. 

Gonzaga overcame a slow start to defeat LMU 65-55 behind the scoring talents of Kaylynne Truong and Yvonne Ejim, who combined for 34 points.

Truong led the Zags with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while also adding six assists and four rebounds in 31 minutes. Ejim, who suffered a facial cut in the first quarter, registered 15 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes.

The Zags had a similar opening against Pepperdine, as head coach Lisa Fortier’s squad was plagued by early turnovers and an inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

Gonzaga regrouped after halftime, shooting 10-for-13 on field goals and 6-for-6 from 3-point range in the third quarter. This run helped the Zags pull ahead and cruise to a 67-49 victory.

Brynna Maxwell was Gonzaga’s leading scorer with 26 points, which included six 3-pointers.

While the Zags’ position in the poll remained the same, there was a lot of movement in the top 10. Ohio State dropped eight spots to No. 10 after losing three times last week, which caused several teams to move up in the rankings.

Defending champion South Carolina kept its top position, but Stanford and LSU moved up one spot to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. No. 6 Iowa was the biggest riser in the top 10, improving four spots.

Gonzaga will take a trip to the Bay Area to face Santa Clara on Thursday and San Francisco on Saturday.

Here’s the full AP Top 25 poll for Week 13 of the 2022-23 season:

1. South Carolina (28) 700
2. Stanford 635
3. LSU 628
4. Indiana 627
5. UConn 623
6. Iowa 522
7. Utah 520
8. Maryland 492
9. Notre Dame 480
10. Ohio State 443
11. North Carolina 399
12. Iowa State 345
13. Virginia Tech 317
14. UCLA 310
15. NC State 291
16. Duke 279
17. Gonzaga 270
18. Michigan 266
19. Villanova 171
20. Oklahoma 151
21. Middle Tennessee 119
22. Arizona 114
23. Florida State 113
24. Texas 94
25. South Florida 52

Others receiving votes: Illinois 45, Colorado 40, USC 17, Tennessee 13, Purdue 12, UNLV 9, Baylor 1, Columbia 1, Oregon 1