Women’s college basketball rankings: Gonzaga stays put at No. 20 in AP Top 25 poll (1/9/23)

Two double-digit wins didn't help the Zags improve their national ranking

After notching a pair of double-digit wins last week, the Gonzaga women’s basketball team stayed put at No. 20 in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The Zags (14-2, 6-0 WCC) defended their home floor by defeating San Francisco on Thursday and Santa Clara on Saturday.

Against the Dons, Gonzaga led by three points following three quarters of play, but outscored their opponents 20-12 in the final period en route to a 63-52 victory.

Senior guard Kaylynne Truong finished with a team-high 17 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. She also added nine assists, five rebounds and a steal in 34 minutes.

Junior forward Yvonne Ejim was Gonzaga’s second-leading scorer with 15 points, while also grabbing 12 rebounds.

The Zags came out on fire against Santa Clara, connecting on six of their first seven shots, including five 3-pointers to take a commanding 24-10 lead at the end of the one quarter.

Gonzaga’s hot start propelled it to a 78-61 win, which marked the team’s ninth-consecutive victory.

Graduate student guard Brynna Maxwell led her team with 17 points, followed by Ejim with 16, Truong with 15 and junior guard McKayla Williams with 13.

While the Zags’ national ranking didn’t see an improvement, they received 21 more points in Monday’s poll. Gonzaga is slotted behind Oklahoma and ahead of Oregon.

The top three teams remained the same, as South Carolina topped the poll with 28 first-place votes, followed by Stanford and Ohio State.

Gonzaga was the only WCC program to receive any votes in the poll for the ninth consecutive week.

The Zags will embark on a three-game road trip, beginning with Portland on Saturday.

Here’s the full AP Top 25 poll for Week 10 of the 2022-23 season:

AP TOP 25 POLL

1. South Carolina (28) 700
2. Stanford 671
3. Ohio State 645
4. UConn 587
5. LSU 582
6. Indiana 574
7. Notre Dame 542
8. UCLA 457
9. Maryland 437
10. Utah 427
11. NC State 370
12. Iowa 352
13. Virginia Tech 342
14. Arizona 341
15. Iowa State 307
16. Duke 281
17. Michigan 261
18. Baylor 253
19. Oklahoma 212
20. Gonzaga 197
21. Oregon 144
22. North Carolina 126
23. Kansas 99
24. Illinois 42
25. Villanova 35

Others receiving votes: Arkansas 33, Middle Tennessee 27, St. John's 22, Miami (FL) 10, South Florida 6, Florida State 5, Seton Hall 5, Creighton 5, Colorado 2, Louisville 1