Kate Benz can't help but wonder how things would have been different had she committed to the UA three years ago.
She almost did.
Instead, the 6-foot-2-inch forward opted for Washington State. Now a junior, Benz will lead the Cougars at McKale Center tonight at 7.
"Oh my goodness, it was definitely hard to say no" to Arizona, said Benz, who is averaging 8.9 points and 11.5 rebounds this season. "I loved the school, I loved the team, and I had a great visit.
"I was seriously considering it. Up until I visited WSU, Arizona was the front-runner."
Benz opted for Pullman, Wash., and its small-town charm. The school was close enough for Benz's family to visit from Portland, Ore., and close-knit enough for the high school senior to feel at home.
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"In the end," she said, "I was most comfortable there."
Benz started playing — and producing — almost as soon as she arrived on the Palouse. She led the Cougars with 6.7 rebounds and put up 8.8 points per game as a freshman in 2003-04.
She stayed on the boards as a sophomore, averaging 10.4 points and a conference-best 9.1 rebounds per game last season. For her efforts, she was an honorable mention selection for the All-Pac-10 team.
Benz is on pace to eclipse those numbers — and earn more awards — this season.
Although Benz said she does not pattern herself after anybody, she was nicknamed after former Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis — "They called me Ka-Bonis," she said — during high school.
She isn't about to compare herself to rebounding extraordinaire Dennis Rodman. In fact, Benz admits she doesn't often watch sports aside from game film.
"She's a great rebounder," UA coach Joan Bonvicini said. "She's meant a lot to them. She's a smart player, and she understands her role."
The Cougars have improved, though modestly, since Benz's arrival. They posted back-to-back 6-22 seasons her first two year after posting just two wins in each of the previous two seasons.
The Cougars (6-4, 0-2 Pac-10) are on pace for a breakout year in a conference that is, with the exception of Arizona State and Stanford, filled with question marks.
Arizona (4-6, 0-1) will have to keep Benz away from the glass tonight to have a chance at a win. The Wildcats have struggled with opponents' post players all season, and will have to neutralize Benz and the Cougars' Keisha Moore (8.4 ppg) if they hope to win.
Benz will be in the middle of it all. And while she admits to thinking about life as a Wildcat, she has no regrets.
"You can't not say to yourself, 'I wonder what it would have been like if I played (at the UA),' " she said. "I like playing the U of A; at the same time, I wouldn't trade my Cougar uniform in for anything."
Tonight
● Who: Washington State at Arizona
● When: 7 p.m.
● TV: None
● Radio: 1330-AM
