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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, April 20, 2008 UW women's basketball team loses another player Associated Press SEATTLE -- Kali Bennett, a 6-foot-5 freshman center for the University of Washington, has decided to leave the Huskies women's basketball program. Bennett is the fourth player from the six-member Washington 2007 recruiting class to depart first-year coach Tia Jackson's program. The previous Huskies to leave were Candice Nichols, Jess McCormack and leading scorer Katelan Redmon. Redmon transferred to Gonzaga and McCormack returned to New Zealand. All four players were recruited by former Washington coach June Daugherty, who is now at Washington State. The primary reason she's leaving Washington is that she didn't feel comfortable playing Jackson's style of basketball, Bennett said. "She has her own style of play that didn't work for me. I didn't come here to play that style of basketball." "Once she starts getting recruits that are devoted to her style of basketball, I think that they'll be successful in the future and I hope they will be successful," Bennett said. Bennett, who averaged 4.9 points and 3 rebounds in 30 games, said she didn't make her decision in haste, taking time to weigh the pros and cons of leaving the Huskies. After the season, "I kind of realized that in the long run it wasn't going to work for me," Bennett said. "I couldn't see myself playing another three years in this program. It's a different style of play, a different philosophy. Obviously like everyone else, it's different than what I signed up for. It wasn't the coach I came for." One Seattle newspaper is reporting that Bennett wants to transfer to Washington State. "That's not true," Bennett said. "I've pretty much ruled it out. That's really on a list of options at this point. Bennett said she hasn't yet really thought about what school she might attend next. "I've struggled with this decision (to leave) for a while, so I never really looked into other options because I didn't know I was leaving," Bennett said. "I just recently decided for sure that I wasn't going to be back next year, so now is when I start looking at other school options." Would Bennett, who's from Ventura, Calif., want to play closer to home? "That's an option if there's a school at home that will work, but I didn't leave here because I'm homesick. That's not why I'm leaving," she said. "So if there's a school closer to home that works for me, that's where I might go, but if it works somewhere in Maine, I'll go there too. I'm just trying to find the program that's best for me." Herald writer John Boyle contributed to this story

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