Women’s college basketball rankings: Gonzaga rises to No. 19 in AP Top 25 poll (12/26/22)

After defeating Montana on Wednesday, the Zags improved their national ranking for the second-straight week

The Gonzaga women’s basketball team moved up three spots to No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.

The Zags (11-2) received 41 more points in the poll (155) after notching an 82-67 win over Montana (4-7) on Wednesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

It was another shorthanded victory for the Zags, who were without starting guard Kayleigh Truong (foot) and backup forward Maud Huijbens (concussion).

Gonzaga’s depth was on full display, with five players putting up double-digit scoring numbers.

Brynna Maxwell led the way for the Zags, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.

The graduate student guard also made five of her six 3-point attempts. She shoots a nation-best 53.3% from beyond the arc.

Defeating Montana propelled the Zags into the top 20 for the first time since the 2020-21 season. In Monday’s top 25, Gonzaga is positioned behind Arizona (10-1) and ahead of Oklahoma (10-1).

Defending NCAA champion South Carolina (12-0) remains the top-ranked team after picking up all 28 first-place votes. The Gamecocks are followed by Stanford (13-1), Ohio State (13-0), Indiana (12-0) and Notre Dame (10-1).

After a seven-day holiday break, Gonzaga returns to action on Dec. 29 when it visits Pepperdine. Tipoff is 4 p.m. PST

Here’s the full AP Top 25 poll for Week 8 of the 2022-23 season:

AP TOP 25 POLL

1. South Carolina (28) 700 

2. Stanford 672 

3. Ohio State 632

4. Indiana 620 

5. Notre Dame 591 

6. NC State 531 

7. Virginia Tech 508 

8. UConn 499 

9. LSU 442 

10. UCLA 433 

11. Utah 398 

12. Iowa 374 

13. North Carolina 373

14. Michigan 342

15. Iowa State 337 

16. Maryland 304

17. Oregon 260 

18. Arizona 238 

19. Gonzaga 155

20. Oklahoma 139

21. Creighton 108

22. Kansas 94 

23. Baylor 93

24. Arkansas 90 

25. St. John’s 75

Others receiving votes: Louisville 19, Duke 18, Villanova 13, Nebraska 10, South Florida 7, Columbia 6, Middle Tennessee 6, Texas 5, Marquette 4, Alabama 4