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The Gonzaga Bulldogs women’s basketball team rose three spots in the latest AP Poll to No. 18 despite owning a 0-1 record on the season. That one loss, however, was at the hands of the No. 1 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, and it was much closer than probably most expected.
The Bulldogs led South Carolina in the fourth quarter before a 14-6 run by the Gamecocks resulted in a 79-72 win over Gonzaga. For the AP voters, that display was enough to warrant a rise in the rankings.
The Zags opened the season ranked No. 21, the highest preseason ranking in school history. The expectations are clearly established, but there are only so many teams one can lose to and rise up in the polls.
Gonzaga has two more nearly ranked opponents on the non-conference slate. The Zags face off against Sough Dakota today and play South Dakota State this weekend.
Here is the full top 25 for women’s basketball.
Women’s AP Poll - Week 2
| rank | team | points | previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| rank | team | points | previous |
| 1 | South Carolina (29) | 749 | 1 |
| 2 | Stanford (1) | 704 | 2 |
| 3 | Connecticut | 689 | 3 |
| 4 | Baylor | 665 | 4 |
| 5 | Louisville | 607 | 5 |
| 6 | Mississippi State | 586 | 6 |
| 7 | Arizona | 566 | 7 |
| 8 | North Carolina State | 564 | 8 |
| 9 | UCLA | 494 | 9 |
| 10 | Oregon | 477 | 10 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 466 | 11 |
| 12 | Texas A&M | 412 | 13 |
| 13 | Indiana | 342 | 16 |
| 14 | Maryland | 327 | 12 |
| 15 | Northwestern | 289 | 17 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 265 | 14 |
| 17 | Oregon State | 256 | 18 |
| 18 | Gonzaga | 193 | 21 |
| 19 | Ohio State | 189 | 20 |
| 20 | DePaul | 187 | 19 |
| 21 | Missouri State | 153 | 24 |
| 22 | Syracuse | 142 | 23 |
| 23 | Iowa State | 128 | 15 |
| 24 | Michigan | 110 | 25 |
| 25 | Texas | 65 | NR |