Women's Basketball Ends The Year Ranked No. 19

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball team closed out another spectacular season by ending the year ranked No. 19 in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Top 25 poll released Wednesday. The Bulldogs finished the season with 205 votes.

The Zags made their fourth-straight trip, and fifth in six years, to the NCAA Tournament in 2011-12 and reached at least the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive year. The No. 11 seed Bulldogs upset No. 6 seed Rutgers 86-73 and then knocked off No. 3 Miami 65-54 to reach the Regional Semifinals. The Zags season ended with a 79-62 setback to No. 2 seed Kentucky.

Gonzaga finished the year with a 28-6 overall mark; also won their eighth-straight West Coast Conference regular season title with a 14-2 mark.   

Baylor University ended the season in the top spot after winning the national championship and going a perfect 40-0.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25 COACHES' POLL - April 4, 2012

The final overall Top 25 women's basketball coaches poll, with team's RECORDS THROUGH TUESDAY in parentheses, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in the final regular-season poll (March 12) and first-place votes:

Others receiving votes: Nebraska (24-9) 70; Rutgers (22-10) 68; LSU (23-11) 42; California (25-10) 27; West Virginia (24-10) 16; Arkansas (24-9) 14; Oklahoma (21-13) 8; Middle Tennessee (26-7) 7; Kansas State (20-14) 5; Vanderbilt (23-10) 4; Florida (20-13) 3; Florida Gulf Coast (29-3) 2; Oklahoma State (22-12) 2; Marist (26-8) 1; Princeton (24-5) 1; Texas-El Paso (29-4) 1.