By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
ROZEL — Pawnee Heights girls basketball coach Kate Reece hasn’t found out the last time the Tiger girls were 3-0 to start a season.
“The girls were wondering the last time that happened,” she said.
The perennial struggling girls basketball team is off to a 3-0 start after beating Palco 50-42 at the Natoma Tournament Tuesday. The Tiger girls will seek their first tournament title in years when they play Ransom-Western Plains at 3 p.m. Friday at Natoma.
Ashlee Miller led the Tigers with 21 points. Cadence Nondorf scored 10 points and Madison Polson added eight points. The Tigers outscored Palco 17-11 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
The Tigers cruised to their first two wins — 46-15 over Fowler and 44-23 over Natoma.
“We needed a tough ballgame like that,” Reece said. “The girls learned a lot, and I learned a lot about what the girls are capable of doing. We would’ve never won that game in the past. The girls are learning how to battle and work together.”
Reece said five ninth-graders have provided a healthy mix of depth and quality players.
“I’m very happy with how the girls are progressing,” Reece said. “This is the most fun they’ve ever had, It’s nice that everyone on our team is contributing. We have freshmen who are not shy about shooting the basketball and that’s helped us.”
PAWNEE HEIGHTS 44, NATOMA 23 — Madison Polson (11), Ashlee Miller (10) and Jaden Carlson (10) scored in double figures. Nine Tigers scored points.
Natoma’s Hannah Chambray scored 23 points and Peyton Ostmeyer grabbed 16 rebounds.
PAWNEE HEIGHTS 46, FOWLER 15 —Eleven Tigers scored points, led by Polson and Jaden Carlson with eight points apiece.
TIGERS 50, PALCO 42
Palco 12 8 11 11 — 42
PH 6 14 13 17 — 50
PALCO—Desaire 7-24 5-7 20, Bouchey 2-14 1-5 5, Benoit 2-5 4-4 8, Hope 2-3 0-1 5, Eickelberry 1-3 0-0 2, Pywell 1-5 0-0 2, Towns 0-5 0-0 0, Totals 13-59 10-17 42.
PH—Ashlee Miller 21, Cadence Nondorf 10, Madison Polson 8, Regan Carlson 4, Jaden Carlson 3, Allison Lupfer 2, Katie Amspacker 2.
TIGERS 44, NATOMA 23
Natoma 7 7 5 4 — 23
PH 15 9 8 12 — 44
NATOMA—Chambray 23.
PH—Polson 11, Miller 10, Jaden Carlson 10, Lupfer 6, Jacelyn Salmans 2, Nicole Roberts 2, Salmans 2, Amspacker 1.
TIGERS 46, FOWLER 15
Fowler 2 2 7 4 — 15
PH 10 7 19 10 — 46
FOWLER—Bollinger 6, Oranadia 4, Cedillo 2, Bollinger 2, Bruckner 1.
PH—Polson 8, Jaden Carlson 8, Stephanie Hands 6, Regan Carlson 4, Amspacker 4, Miller 4, Nondorf 4, Roberts 2, Courtney Stacey 2, Salmans 2, Lupfer 2.
NATOMA TOURNAMENT
FRIDAY GIRLS
3 p.m.—Pawnee Heights (2-0) vs. Western Plains (1-1)
6 p.m.—Natoma (0-2) vs. Palco (1-1)
FRIDAY BOYS
4:30 p.m.—Pawnee Heights (2-0) vs. Western Plains (0-2)
7 p.m.—Natoma (1-1) vs. Palco (1-1)
TUESDAY GIRLS
Pawnee Heights 50, Palco 42
Western Plains 43, Natoma 36
TUESDAY BOYS
Pawnee Heights 50, Palco 26
Natoma 56, Western Plains 45
MONDAY GIRLS
Palco 57, Western Plains 44
Pawnee Heights 44, Natoma 23
MONDAY BOYS
Palco 49, Western Plains 33
Pawnee Heights 52, Natoma 37
