Gonzaga climbs to No. 18, Stanford new No. 1 in women’s poll

The Gonzaga women moved up four spots to No. 18 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Monday.

The Bulldogs improved to 6-1 on Sunday after winning the Gulf Coast Showcase title against Purdue.

Gonzaga junior forward Jenn Wirth played a large role in the tournament championship has been named the West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week.

Wirth was instrumental in Gonzaga’s first non-conference tournament title since 2011, averaging 13.7 points per game shooting over 62 percent from the floor as Gonzaga defeated Dayton, Middle Tennessee and Purdue. She was named tournament MVP.

Meanwhile, Stanford, the team that handed Gonzaga its only loss, is No. 1 for the first time in seven years.

The Cardinal moved up two spots after a weekend that saw previous No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Baylor both lose on Saturday. It was only the third time since the Top 25 became a writers’ poll before the 1994-95 season that the top two teams lost on the same day.

Stanford received 23 of 30 first-place votes from the national media panel on Monday. The team was last No. 1 for six weeks in 2012.

Louisville jumped up six spots to No. 2 after knocking off Oregon, which fell to third. The Cardinals got five first-place votes. UConn, which was the only top-10 team that didn’t play over the holiday weekend, received the other two first-place votes and remained No. 4.

Oregon State moved up to No. 5. South Carolina and Baylor were Nos. 6 and 7. The Gamecocks beat the then-No. 2 Lady Bears in the Paradise Jam tournament.

Florida State, Maryland and Mississippi State rounded out the first 10 teams in the poll.

Missouri State entered the Top 25 for the first time since 2004, coming in at No. 22. The Lady Bears had a two-week run in the poll 15 years ago.