After two straight wins, Gonzaga women remain 25th in latest AP poll

In a week of little movement in the Associated Press poll, the Gonzaga women remained 25th on Monday after wins over Wyoming and Montana.

Gonzaga (3-2) received 69 total votes, just behind DePaul’s 78 and well ahead of Wake Forest, which received 23 votes to remain outside the Top 25.

The Zags looked to move up after an 89-50 romp at Wyoming on Tuesday, but struggled in their home opener against the Lady Griz, who were picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky Conference.

“We have a lot to work on still,” coach Lisa Fortier said after the 58-51 game, which was the first athletic event on campus this year.

“We’re going to keep getting better,” Fortier said. “We don’t want to be our best right now.”

Now busy with finals week, the Zags will fly to Las Vegas this weekend for the Holiday Hoops Classic. GU plays Eastern Michigan on Sunday and North Alabama a day later.

The Zags open West Coast Conference play Dec. 28 at Loyola Marymount. Their next home game is Jan. 2 against Saint Mary’s.

Gonzaga is the only WCC team receiving votes.

Overall, the poll showed very few changes. Stanford solidified its No. 1 spot by picking up two more first-place votes, while Oregon, under former GU coach Kelly Graves, moved up from 11th to seventh.

South Dakota State, which beat GU last week in overtime to break into the Top 25, fell out again after a pair of losses.

Through five games, the Zags are showing depth and versatility. Senior guard Jill Townsend averages a team-high 15.4 points a game.

Senior forward Jenn Wirth (10.8 ppg) is the only other player averaging in double figures. Four other Zags are averaging at least six points per game.

As a team, GU is shooting 44% from the field and 38% from long range, ranking 38th in Division I in the latter category. Six different players are averaging at least three rebounds, giving GU a plus-6 advantage on the boards so far.