By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Columnist

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OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Texas A&M women's basketball team is going to the Elite Eight because of its Elite Eight.

It was so fitting that a team effort earned the program's biggest victory.

Sunday night's 77-63 victory over Duke in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 was what A&M is all about -- team effort. But most of all it was just old-fashioned hard work by eight young ladies.

And A&M didn't just win. The Aggies dominated. And it was the way they did it that was so special.

The Aggies got off to a good start thanks to Danielle Gant, A&M's best player. Gant, who is from Oklahoma City, had a riveting first half. She had eight points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 20 minutes with no turnovers, much to the delight of the crowd.

But Gant couldn't play in the second half because of dehydration.

What a blow for the Aggies, making only their second Sweet 16 appearance. A&M at least had an excuse for losing to a program making its 11th straight trip to the third round.

But by the time Gant left the locker room and returned to the bench with 8 minutes, 24 seconds left in the game, A&M had a 54-41 lead.

Duke might not have even noticed she didn't return, because all the Aggies played with Gant-like intensity.

A&M had four players score in double figures, but it's never about the Aggies' offense. It's always about the defense.

Duke head coach Joanne McCallie and her players found that out the hard way. Duke had 19 turnovers, missed 12 of 15 3-point attempts and constantly made bad plays in the face of A&M's pressure.

A&M players took four charges, much to the delight of the partisan Aggie crowd, many of them wearing No. 12 jerseys.

While the Aggie nation waits for first-year football coach Mike Sherman and defensive coordinator Joe Kines to bring back the Wrecking Crew, maybe the women can borrow the moniker. They've sure earned that right.

Duke players attending Saturday's pregame press conference didn't disrespect A&M, but you could tell by body language they weren't awestruck by the Ags' defense.

Duke had played in the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference against Maryland and North Carolina -- teams playing for regional championships -- in addition to facing UConn, Rutgers and Tennessee.

A&M can't match those teams in McDonald's All-Americans. But the Aggies proved again that effort always plays a big role.

The Aggies mentally beat down Duke with their hustling, team-effort approach.

A&M center La Toya Micheaux got in foul trouble, but Dimitria Buchanan played 17 minutes with no turnovers. Freshman guard Sydney Colson scored seven points in six minutes. Junior guard Takia Starks played 39 minutes, hitting a pair of big 3-pointers early.

But the night belonged to the seniors -- point guard A'Quonesia Franklin, forward Patrice Reado and wing Morenike Atunrase.

Franklin refused to buckle under Duke's great pressure. She kept things under control, also adding a trio of big 3-pointers in the second half.

Reado never looked better, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds -- all in the second half. Atunrase added 13 points and four timely offensive rebounds.

What a game.

Four years ago, those seniors joined a program that couldn't finish in the top eight of the Big 12 Conference. Now they are among the nation's Elite Eight.

All because of hard work and team effort.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

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