Dec. 4 Women's AP Top 25: Historic Win Lands Gonzaga Back In The Poll

An emphatic win over No. 3 Stanford sends Gonzaga back into the AP Top 25 for the 11th time in 15 seasons.

Dec 5, 2023 by Kyle Kensing

Dec. 4 Women's AP Top 25: Historic Win Lands Gonzaga Back In The Poll

Gonzaga's first-ever win over a top three-ranked opponent came emphatically, as the Bulldogs trounced Stanford on Dec. 3, 96-78. With one of the most surprising and impressive performances of this college basketball season, the Bulldogs landed in the AP Top 25 with the release of the first December poll.

"To see everyone's joy, yeah — that's moving," said Maud Huijbens in the postgame press conference. Huijbens was one of five Gonzaga scorers in double-figures, going for 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the floor. "We did that, and we didn't have the best game against Eastern [Washington, an 82-80 win on Nov. 29]. To bounce back like that is something. I think it will give some confidence that we're able to do some great things this year."

Gonzaga became an NCAA Tournament fixture in the late 2000s, qualifying for the field 14 times from 2007 through 2023. The Bulldogs tipped off the 2023-24 campaign with a three-year March Madness streak, and appearances in the Dance six of the last seven seasons. With this addition to the Dec. 4 Associated Press Top 25, Gonzaga teams have appeared in the poll in 11 of the last 15 seasons including five of the last six.

Even with all that success, Gonzaga hadn't scored a win as meaningful since its Sweet 16 defeat of Louisville in 2011. The No. 11-seed, Cinderella Bulldogs team that year had its dream of the Final Four snuffed out in a loss, coincidentally, against Stanford.

Although the next edition of the Final Four isn't for another four months, this matchup against the Cardinal showed Gonzaga has the pieces necessary to reach the national semifinals — and thus, contend for a national championship.

With her 27-point, 12-rebound double-double, Yvonne Ejim improved her season output to 20 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. She's scored in double-figures every game for the campaign so far.

Yvonne Ejim is your 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 player of the week. 🫡

📰: https://t.co/JbOjxozoim pic.twitter.com/el3Lx95W81
— Gonzaga Women's Basketball (@ZagWBB) December 5, 2023

Bryanna Maxell's 4-of-8 3-point shooting en route to a career-high 27 points showed off Gonzaga's perimeter punch to complement its strength on the interior.

"We're an interesting group, because we're so talented," Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said in the postgame press conference. She detailed conversations with players during one-on-one meetings as reflective of the Bulldogs' mentality. "A lot of them said they're at their best when they're playing confident. Almost everyone of them. We talked about togetherness, [connectivity] and confidence."

"Hopefully they see today, as the collective group, we should be confident," she added.

Pac'ing It In

Despite suffering its first loss of the season, Stanford remains in the top 10 at No. 9. The Cardinal are one of five Pac-12 Conference teams in the poll's top 11, a reminder that the impending erosion of the league is in no way reflective of the basketball product it has routinely put on the court.

Undefeated UCLA holds steady at No. 2, returning to the mainland from its impressive showing at the Cayman Islands Classic with an 81-66 win at Arkansas on Sunday.

On a week their respective brothers had big-time performances — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a career-high 24 points in the Miami Heat's win over Indiana on Thursday, while Reese Poffenbarger scored four touchdowns in UAlbany's FCS Playoffs win over Richmond — UCLA's Gabriela Jaquez and Arkansas' Saylor Poffenbarger each led their teams in rebounding on Sunday.

Jaquez came off the bench for 10 points and 11 boards, one of two Bruins with a double-double. Lauren Betts had 20 points and 10 rebounds for a UCLA team rolling along with its best ranking in program history.

The Bruins face a difficult stretch before the holiday, taking on No. 20 Florida State at the home of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun on Dec. 10 then traveling to No. 12 Ohio State on Dec. 18. The Buckeyes climbed four spots in the Dec. 4 AP Top 25 after blasting Tennessee on Sunday, 78-58.

Since a season-opening loss to USC, Ohio State is a winner in six straight, including a pair of routs at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship.

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If UCLA can get through that stretch unscathed, the Bruins could be opening Pac-12 play on Dec. 30 with a top five showdown.

Crosstown rival USC remains at No. 6 in the AP Top 25, parlaying its 83-74 win over Ohio State on opening night into a 7-0 start. After the Trojans outlasted Penn State in a 71-70 nail-biter at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, they returned home to dispatch Cal Poly and the University of San Diego by 72 combined points.

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USC should be 10-0 when it heads to Pauley Pavilion. The Trojans play local opponents UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State in the lead-up to conference competition.

Also in the top 11 from the Pac-12 this week, Utah moved up a spot from No. 12 following an 87-68 rout of rival BYU on Saturday. The Utes are winners in five straight since dropping an 84-77 decision at Baylor on Nov. 14, and that streak should extend to six games before Utah steps into the biggest game of the week.

UU faces top-ranked South Carolina as part of Sunday's showcase in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Pac-12 looks to go to 2-0 in meetings with No. 1-ranked opponents from the SEC. Colorado, which kicked off the season beating then-top-ranked LSU, rounds out the Pac's big five at No. 8.

CU plays just once more, hosting Northern Colorado on Dec. 21, before opening conference against Utah.

Still Undefeated

No. 1 South Carolina headlines a group of seven Top 25 teams still unbeaten this season, including the top three:

No. 1 South Carolina, 8-0: The Gamecocks scored a pair of wins over regular ACC contenders North Carolina and Duke last week, 65-58 and 77-61, both on the road.

No. 2 UCLA, 7-0

No. 3 North Carolina State, 9-0: The Wolfpack followed up their 78-60 defeat of Colorado with wins of 70-62 vs. Vanderbilt, and 79-61 vs. Illinois State last week.

No. 5 Texas, 9-0: The Longhorns climbed four spots into the top five following an 80-68 win over UConn. Rori Harmon went forr for 27 points and 13 assists in the victory.

No. 6 USC, 7-0

No. 10 Baylor, 7-0: A 71-51 rout of Oregon on Sunday helped continue Baylor's climb up the rankings. The Bears have employed a balanced offense with seven scorers averaging from 8.3 to 13.7 points per game to produce one of the nation's most prolific attacks at 89 points a contest. A possible showdown of unbeatens looms with Baylor opening Big 12 Conference play Dec. 30 against Texas.

No. 19 Marquette, 8-0: Routs of Memphis and Penn last week helped Marquette — a new arrival to the Top 25 on Nov. 27 — elevate to the top 20 to begin December. The Golden Eagles are one of three BIG EAST Conference squads ranked along with No. 17 UConn and No. 22 Creighton.

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Marquette and Creighton face off in the Dec. 13 BIG EAST opener, when both should still be in the polls.

Dec 14, 2023, 2:00 AM UTC

2023 Creighton vs Marquette - Women's

Another few undefeated teams remain just outside of the Top 25. Southern Miss improved to 7-0 on Saturday with a 61-59 defeat of then-No. 19 Ole Miss. Surprisingly, the Golden Eagles garnered fewer votes (two) than Ole Miss (eight).

However, USM will have an opportunity to make another non-conference statement against a Florida Gulf Coast team also vying for Top 25 consideration.

UNLV moved to 8-0 on Saturday with a 72-53 win over Arizona, setting up the Runnin' Rebels for a huge coupled of games in the coming weeks. They travel to Oklahoma on Wednesday, then a week later, head to Seton Hall for a showdown streaming here on FloHoops.com.

Dec 16, 2023, 6:00 PM UTC

2023 UNLV vs Seton Hall - Women's

If the Runnin' Rebels can get past Oklahoma, that will be a huge opportunity for a Seton Hall bunch that played USC and a good Princeton tough in early-season losses.

Record: 6-2

Previous: No. 15

21. Washington State

Record: 9-1

Previous: Not Ranked

22. Creighton

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Record: 6-1

Previous: Not Ranked

23. Gonzaga

Record: 8-2

Previous: Not ranked

24. North Carolina

Record: 5-3

Previous: No. 24

25. Penn State

Record: 7-1

Previous: Not ranked

Dec. 4 Women's AP Top 25: Historic Win Lands Gonzaga Back In The Poll

Dec. 4 Women's AP Top 25: Historic Win Lands Gonzaga Back In The Poll

An emphatic win over No. 3 Stanford sends Gonzaga back into the AP Top 25 for the 11th time in 15 seasons.

Pac'ing It In

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Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Still Undefeated

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2023 Creighton vs Marquette - Women's

2023 UNLV vs Seton Hall - Women's

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!