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The Gonzaga Bulldogs women’s basketball team opens the season sitting barely outside the top 25 in the first AP poll of the year.
The Oregon Ducks are almost the universal first place team, securing 25 of the potential 28 first-place votes. Baylor comes in second with the three outstanding first-place votes.
Across the top 25, the Zags have the potential to face two ranked squads this season. Gonzaga will head to Palo Alto to face the No. 3 ranked Stanford Cardinal on Nov. 17. They also have the potential to face No. 20 Arizona State during the Gulf Goast Showcase over the holiday break.
Interestingly enough, despite the preseason vote for the WCC being a close race between the Zags and BYU, BYU didn’t receive a single vote in the AP poll. That appears to be a situation that will most likely change.
The full AP poll is listed below.
Women’s AP Poll - Week 1
| rank | team | points |
|---|---|---|
| rank | team | points |
| 1 | Oregon (25) | 697 |
| 2 | Baylor (3) | 675 |
| 3 | Stanford | 631 |
| 4 | Maryland | 596 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 569 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 554 |
| 7 | Oregon State | 525 |
| 8 | South Carolina | 518 |
| 9 | Louisville | 477 |
| 10 | Mississippi State | 443 |
| 11 | UCLA | 380 |
| 12 | Florida State | 354 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 342 |
| 14 | NC State | 320 |
| 15 | Texas | 303 |
| 16 | Notre Dame | 290 |
| 17 | Michigan State | 205 |
| 18 | DePaul | 174 |
| 18 | Miami | 174 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 118 |
| 21 | Syracuse | 103 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 93 |
| 23 | Minnesota | 90 |
| 24 | Indiana | 86 |
| 25 | Michigan | 77 |
The season begins on Saturday, at 2:00 pm, with an exhibition game against Warner Pacific University. The regular season beings on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2:00 pm, against CSU Bakersfield.