Gonzaga, Washington State women receive votes in preseason AP poll

They’re not ranked, but the Gonzaga and Washington State women’s basketball teams received votes in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll.

Both teams, however, will have several shots at knocking off ranked teams this season.

The poll, released Tuesday, gave Gonzaga three votes and WSU one, even though the Cougars return four starters from a team that reached the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row.

Defending NCAA champion South Carolina was a unanimous choice at No. 1 by the 30-member voting panel, followed by Stanford, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee.

Connecticut, Louisville, Iowa State, Notre Dame and North Carolina State round out the top 10.

The new poll puts Gonzaga just where it ended the previous season, receiving votes but not enough to be ranked. The Zags went 27-7 last year and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

GU loses four starters from that squad, but the new-look Zags will have plenty of opportunities to impress the pollsters.

On Nov. 19 in the Bahamas, the Zags will open the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament against No. 7 Louisville, the same program that ended their season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Depending on first-round results, GU could face No. 3 Texas in the second round. Also in the field are No. 5 Tennessee and No. 23 South Dakota State.

GU also has a date with No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 2 in the Bay Area.

Washington State faces no ranked teams in nonconference play but meets a gantlet of top squads in the Pac-12.

The Cougars have just one meeting each with Stanford (Feb. 3 in Pullman) and No. 19 Arizona (Jan. 29 in Tucson), but must play twice against No. 20 Oregon.

Two other Pac-12 teams, UCLA and Utah, narrowly missed the rankings; WSU is scheduled to play each team twice.

WSU opens the season Oct. 30 with an exhibition against visiting Westmont.

Gonzaga kicks off with a home exhibition against Western Washington.