SLIPPERY ROCK— No one could blame Bethany Koch if she's experiencing a bit of culture shock.

The former Union High basketball standout has gone from playing the post for a small Class Ahigh school to playing guard for an NCAADivision IIteam.

Yet the Clarion University sophomore hasn't been bothered by the transition at all.

"I knew I didn't have the size to play forward at this level,"Koch said. "I've had to work on my ballhandling skills and I'm still doing that."

Koch averaged 17.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game as a senior at Union, was named District 9 Co-Player of the Year and helped the Golden Damsels reach the PIAAClass Asemifinals.

She scored 1,311 points in her high school career.

"I don't like to say anyone is being groomed to be a starter here. Those positions have to be earned,"said longtime Clarion women's basketball coach Gie Parsons. "But Beth certainly has the potential to get there."

Koch showed that potential last year, posting a double-double against Kutztown — 10 points, 11 rebounds — as a freshman. She averaged 10.6 minutes, 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in her first year at Clarion.

Playing on a team that has two 1,000-point scorers in Jessica Albanese and Katrina Greer, along with an all-conference point guard in Ashley Grimm, earning playing time isn't easy. Clarion returned all five starters from last year's 9-17, 4-8 team.

Fracturing a fibula doesn't help matters, either. Koch did so before the season opener this year and missed the first 12 games.

"That was frustrating because I fell behind everybody,"Koch said. "I had never gotten hurt playing basketball before, never missed any time.

"I swam a lot, did work on the bike, but you can only condition so much when you're not on the court playing and practicing."

That's why Koch's performance Saturday at Slippery Rock University was so important. She came off the bench to play 20 minutes, score eight points and dish out five assists.

Koch entered that game averaging six minutes of playing time with only 15 points and three assists all year.

"By far, that was Beth's best game of the season,"Parsons said. "She's just now rounding back into form."

One other statistic stood out on Koch's line from that Slippery Rock game:No turnovers.

"That's important to me because I have to handle the ball,"Koch said.

Koch has no visions of being an all-conference player or even a starter at Clarion over the next two years. She's just happy to see an 18-8 record and the 10th PSACTournament appearance of Parsons' career at Clarion.

"It's about winning and I'm here to help the team win any way I can,"she said. "If that means coming off the bench, so be it."

Koch's winning background at Union is one of the reasons Parsons brought her to Clarion.

"I don't even consider Union a small school because they play such big-time basketball there,"Parsons said. "Beth has plenty of experience in big games."

An elementary education major, Koch is minoring in coaching and plans to coach at the high school level.

"I love basketball. I always want to be a part of it," she said.