Women's hoops enters the rankings at No. 21

PROVO, Utah – After a 7-0 start and two top-25 wins, BYU women's basketball entered the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2019 at No. 21 Monday.

On Tuesday, BYU also made an appearance at No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25.

BYU is off to its best start since the 2013-14 season when the Jeff Judkins led squad went 28-7 and made a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Judkins has missed the last three games while quarantining for Covid-19, but assistant coach Lee Cummard has the Cougars 3-0 while filling in. BYU is coming off back-to-back wins over ranked teams in No. 17 Florida State and No. 22 West Virginia last week, winning the St. Pete Showcase.

The Cougars also defeated Mountain West Conference favorite Fresno State with an 80-64 win at the Marriott Center earlier this year. The team followed that win up with a 55-44 victory over Pac-12 foe Arizona State.

BYU is led by last year's West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year, Shaylee Gonzales. Named the St. Pete Showcase MVP, Gonzales averages 18.9 points per game.

In addition to Gonzales, the Cougars also feature senior guard Paisley Harding, averaging 15.0 points and forward Lauren Gustin, averaging a double-double at 10.7 points and 10.7 rebounds.

BYU plays at Utah on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m MST. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.