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Updated 7:04 AM on Monday, March 19, 2007

Big performance from Gant leads Aggies to second round

By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - Because Danielle Gant can play inside and outside, the Texas A&M women's basketball team has the opportunity for its first Sweet 16 appearance in 13 years.

Gant had 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 58-50 NCAA Tournament first-round victory over Texas-Arlington, getting the Aggies to the second round for only the second time in school history.

Gant's points and rebounds were the most by an Aggie in an NCAA Tournament game, but that was only half of her effort.

The 5-foot-11 Gant shut down UTA point guard Terra Wallace, a two-time Southland Conference player of the year.

Gant blocked the first field-goal attempt by the 5-7 Wallace, who missed 22 of 26 shots.

"[Gant] was really pressuring their guard and making it uncomfortable [for her] with the ball," A&M forward Katy Pounds said. "It allowed the rest of us to get out there and run in transition offense when we got a steal or a rebound."

Gant scored A&M's first 13 second-half points as the Aggies erased a 26-24 UTA halftime lead, advancing to Sunday's second-round game against George Washington.

"We've got to make sure she doesn't post us up like she did to Arlington," GW coach Joe McKeown said. "We have a little more size than UTA did."

George Washington averages 38.3 rebounds per game, including 12.6 on the offensive end, so Gant's first focus again will be defense, especially rebounding.

"I think I'll be playing more on the wing," she said. "If I do play down low, I'll just have to use my inside pivot."

She won't be on the perimeter, which will be a concern for GW's inside players.

"So she gets 14 boards guarding the point guard?" A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "I think she would have had 20 boards if she would have been at the [No.] 3, 4 or 5 position, but our guards were not doing it."

Thompson started driving when Gant went to the bench with two fouls, hitting 7 of 8 free throws. Blair put Gant back in with 4 minutes, 27 seconds left in the first half, and UTA scored only three more points before halftime.

"We wore her out too much," Blair said. "We rotated other players, but [Wallace] was driving on them.

"I didn't want to wear out my best rebounder."

He didn't. Gant had 10 second-half rebounds to go along with 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 6 of 9 at the free-throw line.

"Too many players take plays off, particularly on defense," Blair said. "She never takes a play off. Even if she gets beat, she's going to hustle to get back, and make somethin' happen.

"It's just those intangibles that the great players have. Too many people watch the game and the game goes by them instead of trying to be involved."

Gant had to work hard to make sure her first two years of college basketball didn't pass her by in junior college.

Gant was a three-time all-state player at Putnam West in Oklahoma City, drawing attention from Connecticut and Tennessee. But during her senior year it appeared she wouldn't be academically eligible, and her choices dwindled.

When she was cleared by the NCAA, only a handful of schools remained, including A&M and Oklahoma, which had just signed Courtney and Ashley Paris.

Blair and his staff sold Gant on the Aggies, even though A&M was 6-26 in Big 12 play in his first two seasons.

"I wanted to be part of building a good program," Gant said. "OU was already a top program. I wanted to make my name helping do that."

She was the sixth man last season, averaging 8.5 points and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds per game, helping the Aggies to a third-place finish in the Big 12 at 11-5, the best in school history.

She's played a more significant role this season, especially with preseason All-American Morenike Atunrase battling foot and ankle injuries.

Gant has led the Aggies in scoring six times, all but once as a starter.

She had 24 points and 13 rebounds as a starter against Washington in the game after Atunrase broke a bone in her left foot.

Gant is averaging 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Big 12 co-champs. She has 61 steals, 63 assists and 27 blocks with only 60 turnovers while averaging 28.8 minutes per game.

She still prefers to come off the bench, because it allows her to study what the opponent is doing.

Gant has been a deadly scorer inside with her quickness against taller opponents. She is hitting 57.6 percent of her shots. The next-best starter is forward Patrice Reado at 48.3.

"She never, never takes a bad shot," Blair said.

She's just as selective in the classroom, where she's developed into a top student.

"My main focus is my grades," Gant said. "My grades [this year] are nothing but A's and B's."

If she can help A&M win one more game, it will be A&M's best grade on the court since facing Purdue in the Sweet 16 in 1994.