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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gonzaga women move up to season-best 18th in AP Top 25 poll

Gonzaga  (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)

The Gonzaga women are beginning to make an impression on Associated Press voters.

Limited by other teams’ COVID-19 issues to just one game, the Zags made the most of it by winning 79-61 at Portland on Sunday.

They also won over a few more AP voters, moving up two spots to 18th in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll released Monday.

GU moved up partly because of losses by Mississippi State and Arkansas, both of which dropped games last week in the rugged Southeastern Conference.

Another SEC team, Tennessee, moved up five spots, to 20th.

The No. 18 ranking is the Zags’ highest this year. GU has won 12 straight to improve to 13-2 overall and 8-0 in the West Coast Conference.

Gonzaga rose one spot, to 19th, in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, a key metric in determining selections and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

The Zags were 21st in Monday’s Rating Percentage Index, or RPI.

Originally scheduled to host San Diego and BYU last week, the Zags couldn’t play either contest because of COVID issues with both opponents.

The Portland game was put together on three days’ notice, potentially freeing the Feb. 4-6 weekend for makeup games.

The Zags are at Pacific on Thursday and at Saint Mary’s on Saturday. GU beat both teams handily earlier this month in Spokane.