Miss Basketball Showcase
2003 National Champions

KEARNEY - Coach Ron Hutton paced up and down the sideline, his presence nearly oblivious to the crowd looking on.

Every so often he barked out a play or a bit of advice. Yet for the most part he remained serene, a luxury Hutton can afford when you have multitalented Danielle Gant and Danielle Zanotti playing key roles for your Air Oklahoma team.

Zanotti helped put Air Oklahoma into position with 14 points and Gant ended the Wichita Tornados chances of a championship with 21 points in a 62-46 victory in the final game of the Miss Basketball Showcase at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

"(Zanotti) worked real hard on her perimeter game and she is playing with a lot of confidence. Now, she is stepping up and shooting the ball," Hutton said.

A resilient Wichita Tornados team sneaked into the championship game, winning a close quarterfinal matchup against Kansas Prime Time, in which it trailed almost the entire game.

Point guard Taylor Steven helped key a strong Tornados start, scoring her team's first five points and feeding JoAnn Hamlin in the post. Hamlin took advantage of Oklahoma's low post defense, scoring 14 points and keeping Wichita within four points at halftime, 29-25.

Steven led the Tornados with 15 points.

When the Tornados opened the second half and remained close, trading baskets and the lead, it was Zanotti who kept Oklahoma leading. She made two jumpers from the corner, allowing Oklahoma to retain a one point lead and Gant to reenergize.

"We all stepped up this game. I didn't play good in the first half but I came out in the second half and did what I had to do," Gant said.

Gant clinched tournament MVP, a year after finishing on the Miss Basketball All-Tournament first team. She is drawing college attention from the likes of Kansas St., Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas Tech to name a few of the many.

"She was tired, but she performs everyday," Zanotti said.

Gant recovered late, scoring 13 points in the second half.

The championship was the third game Sunday for Oklahoma and fatigue played a factor in the waning minutes. A negative for most teams, this was a positive according to Hutton, who has a bench stocked with collegiate potential.

"We tried to get a rotation down where we used our full bench," he said. "Our girls on the bench … provided some key minutes where we could give our regulars a break."

Zanotti kept Oklahoma in the game early, scoring eight points in a 10-2 run to create a 15-9 lead after trailing by two. Her contributions came with Gant struggling and in early foul trouble.

"I have been struggling for a little while," Zanotti said. "Once I started hitting them, I thought, OK, this is going to be a good game."

Air Oklahoma seemed to regain its energy midway through the second half, restarting its fastbreak and opening up what had been a close game. Savannah Hutton scored five of her eight points in the momentum switch.

Coming into the tournament, Coach Hutton was hoping to see his team play solid basketball; it wasn't his main goal to win the championship.

"I never thought that we couldn't win the tournament," he said. "I knew that if we played the way we are capable of playing we would be real competitive."

Air Oklahoma came into the eighth Miss Basketball Showcase as one of the youngest teams. Air Oklahoma is going into the 15 and under AAU Nationals. Nationals that take place July 18-26 in Virginia.

"It is a great boost, it's good for them," he said. "It gives them confidence and gives them a reason to go out and keep working like they have been this summer."

Air Oklahoma finds itself with the opportunity to come back next year and repeat with an identical roster.

"Just keep getting better. Not staying the same but getting better every year and going after the national title," Zanotti said of her team's mission.