Kim Nowakowski was looking for a basketball team closer to home for which she could play and win.

She found it.

The former Butler girls basketball star is transferring from Bowling Green State (Ohio) University to California (Pa.) University.

"I wanted to come somewhere near home and I was looking at Division II schools so I wouldn't have to sit out another year," Nowakowski said.

The 6-foot-2 center graduated from Butler in 2003 fifth on the Golden Tornado's girls basketball career scoring list with 1,135 points. She signed with Bowling Green before her senior year.

A broken foot ended her freshman season with the Falcons before it began.

"It happened in August," Nowakowski said. "I thought I sprained it at first, but after a month of preseason camp, I really aggravated it.

"I went to the doctor and they found the break. I was redshirted. I think I would have played otherwise," she added.

Bowling Green went on to post a 21-10 record, but Nowakowski wanted out regardless.

"I never felt comfortable there," she said.

She did gain 15 pounds of muscle mass, however, while going through the Falcons' weight training program for a year.

"Bowling Green did all the work and we're reaping the benefits," California coach Darcie Vincent said. "They bulked her up and got her adjusted to college.

"Hopefully, this is a case where the strong get stronger."

California won the Division II national title this past season, has won 68 of 71 games the past two years and will carry a 55-game home winning streak into next season.

Nowakowski figures to step right into the Vulcans' starting lineup as post players Becky Siembak and Sameera Philyaw, who combined for 3,700 points and nearly 2,000 rebounds, have graduated.

"Kim is an established inside player and a perfect fit for us," California assistant coach and Slippery Rock High School graduate Heather Kearney said. "She should step right into the starting lineup and we have her for four years."

Such expectations don't bother Nowakowski.

"I like that kind of pressure," she said. "I love to win and I expect to contribute to the winning."

Nowakowski considered transferring to Indiana (Pa.) University, but California was the only Division II school to recruit her out of high school.

"They do things like a Division I program," Nowakowski said. "They have the feel of a Division I program. That's one of the reasons I'm going there."

A business major at Bowling Green, Nowakowski will continue along that career path at California.

"She is mentally and physically strong," Vincent said. "And any player who is forced to sit out a year is hungry to play. We've experienced that here before."

Kearney coaches the post players at Cal and is anxious to begin working with Nowakowski.

"I'm just excited to get a player of her caliber," Kearney said.

"I don't know if Heather's more excited about the national championship or about getting a player from her neighborhood," Vincent said. "I'm sure winning the national championship helped us get Kim.

"It's been an uphill fight for four years. Name recognition is huge in recruiting and a lot of people had no idea California was a university in Pennsylvania.

"Everybody who follows basketball in this region knows where we are now," Vincent added.