Gonzaga women pick up more votes in AP poll, but still unranked

The Gonzaga women are 6-1, and a few people are starting to notice.

The Zags earned 7 votes in The Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday. That’s not enough to put them in the rankings, but they’re only eight spots away following their triumphant weekend in Hawaii.

Playing three games in as many days, the Zags rolled to double-digit wins over Utah, Eastern Illinois and host Hawaii in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown.

Utah and Eastern lllinois came into the tournament unbeaten, but the Zags pulled away early and were never threatened by either team. However, neither squad was ranked, and GU has few opportunities to play a ranked team.

Meanwhile, West Coast Conference rival BYU made the most of that opportunity last week. Unranked a week ago, the Cougars knocked off No. 17 Florida State and No. 22 West Virginia in a Thanksgiving tournament in Florida to move to 21st this week.

BYU, the preseason WCC favorite, is 7-0. GU will have two shots at the Cougars this year, Feb. 5 in the Kennel and two weeks later in Provo, Utah.

Washington State also received votes this week, but lost a few after losing 62-34 to then-No. 5 North Carolina State in a tournament in the Bahamas.

South Carolina topped the poll for the third straight week, followed by UConn, NC State, Stanford and Baylor.

Other ranked Pac-12 teams include No. 7 Arizona, No. 18 Oregon and No. 23 Oregon State.

Statistically, the Zags rank 16th nationally in rebounding margin, with a plus-12.3; and 40th in scoring defense, with 55 ppg allowed.