By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Natoma junior guard Danica Casey ranks seventh in Kansas in scoring at 19.8 points per contest. Of the top-15 scorers in the state, 14 play on teams with .500 or better records, according to maxpreps.com. Four athletes play on teams currently ranked. Casey, on the 4-11 Tigers, is the lone player that doesn't play on a winning team.

It's a much different experience for Casey this year than last winter. In 2010-11, Casey had senior forward Bailey Pfortmiller and senior point guard Montenne Barth. Senior Amanda Rhone was a solid role player. Natoma went 12-10 and spent some time in the state rankings for one of the best Tiger seasons in the last decade.

This season, Pfortmiller, Barth and Rhone have graduated. Sophomore Marcy Barth played some as a freshman and would have started this season, but is out long-term with a back injury. Casey has had to carry even more of the scoring load for a young and inexperienced team.

"It's on and off with games," Casey said. "We have girls that can really step up and score, but we haven't played together ever. We have got so many new girls on the floor that we just don't have experience with each other, and we are still looking for more dribblers and ball handlers. It will come with time, I hope. We're just rough right now."

Coach Aaron Homburg has focused on smaller goals with this year's group. After a big loss Jan. 31 to Wilson, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, Division II, Homburg didn't focus on the final score. Instead, he was pleased the Tigers had just 20 turnovers. The previous contest, Natoma had 34.

The Tigers have struggled offensively, averaging 39.1 points a game and shooting 24 percent from the field. In the Tigers' four victories, Casey has collected 38, 37, 22 and 28 points. A 44-42 victory last Friday against Mankato-Rock Hills ended a five-game losing streak.

"We have held some teams into the 30s and 40s, but it doesn't matter if you are not going to score," Homburg said. "We won a couple there early, Danica had big games. ... We are a work in progress. We are just trying to improve every game. We just got to make little victories, because it's hard to keep their heads up."

Casey has often played point guard and taken over ball handling duties. She has had some help with sophomore Tatum Pfortmiller, senior Lakin Pfortmiller, senior Randi Nuss and freshman Kourtney Grafel.

Tatum Pfortmiller averages 6.5 points a contest, while Grafel collects 6.3 points and 10.8 rebounds a contest. She ranks fourth in Kansas among freshmen in rebounds per game.

However, Natoma is hopeful for the future. Next year, the Tigers will return Casey, Tatum Pfortmiller, Grafel, hopefully Barth, and Regan Casey, Danica's younger sister and a talented player in the junior ranks.

"We have others that are stepping up, but we are young," Homburg said. "Tatum played a little last year off and on, Randi played a little, but outside of that, basically freshman experience out there. We just need to find other people to score. It's made (Casey) better, though. She handles the ball a lot better now."

Even with little supporting cast, Casey has continued to put up big numbers and is closing in on 1,000 career points. In the area, only Atwood's Hillary Chvatal, at 24.2 points a contest, averages more points than Casey. Casey tallies 13 rebounds a contest, fifth-best in Kansas, and has averaged a double-double for the second straight year. Always an outstanding free throw shooter, Casey has shot 83 percent from the line and her 138 free throw attempts are much higher than any other player in Kansas. Wilson's Karlie Steinle ranks second with 88 foul shots. Casey now has 984 career points.

"She is a great player," Wilson coach Rod Seehafer said.

As well, Casey leads the team with 32 steals and 17 blocks, and ranks second with 1.5 assists. She has 20 of the Tigers' 31 treys and has often shown range from several feet beyond the arc. Because Casey is such a focal point for defenders, sometimes long-range treys are her best looks. She has collected 50.6 percent of Natoma's total points. Last year, with strong secondary players, Casey tallied 37.4 percent of her team's points.

"It's really frustrating," Casey said. "I feel like as a player, it is helping me with my ball handling with girls on me, but it just gets frustrating and I wish girls on our team would step up and just really say, 'I am not going to let them do that,' and just take more control. Again, that comes with age. We are just young."