Gov. Janet Napolitano sat on the women's basketball bench Saturday with more on her mind than just hoops.
Napolitano was a guest coach for the Wildcats as part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which promotes the advancement of women's sports. It was the second time the governor joined the Wildcat women on the bench.
Napolitano was accompanied on the floor of McKale Center in a halftime ceremony by UA athletic director Jim Livengood, assistant director Kathleen "Rocky" LaRose and Wildcat women's swim and dive coach Michele Mitchell-Rocha, along with more than 100 young female Tucson athletes.
"Girls, I want to tell you: Sports can change your lives," said Mitchell-Rocha, a silver medalist in the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. "The sky is now the limit for women in sports."
"More and more girls are playing competitive sports in school and getting that opportunity," Napolitano said after the game. "They're getting to play in college. These are opportunities that weren't available until a few years ago."
In 2003 and 2004, 173 female student-athletes play or have played in an NCAA Division-I sport at Arizona. Hundreds more participate in UA club sports.
The governor is now 2-0 when guest-coaching Arizona, as the Wildcats beat the California Golden Bears 77-59 for their 25th straight home victory. The Wildcats beat Washington State by 30 when Napolitano joined them on the sidelines last year.
"The rule was that they had to be up by 30 for me to call a play," Napolitano said. "So I've got to come back next year and pick an easier team, I guess."
Though the governor didn't get to call any shots this year, she listened in on head coach Joan Bonvicini's instructions during timeouts and asked a lot of questions of the players.
"I was listening to what directions the coach was giving during timeouts and I was asking, 'What does that mean?'" Napolitano said. "They explained to me the plays that were being called. They were just helping me understand the game better."
Asked why she passed up the Arizona State-Stanford women's game in Tempe in favor of the Wildcats, Napolitano smiled and said, "I have to be very careful how I answer that question."
"I will be guest coaching in Tempe later, but I came to the UA first because this was my first guest coaching job last year. So it will always be number one," she said.