KNOX, Pa. (EYT/D9) — It was something Natalie Bowser once thought was far out of reach.
Turns out, not much is beyond the 6-foot forward’s grasp.
Bowser was on the cusp of two huge high school basketball feats heading into the game against Cranberry on Thursday night — 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
The Keystone senior got both, scoring 18 points in the Panthers’ 43-28 victory over Cranberry on Senior Night.
“It is very surreal for me,” Bowser said. “I’m glad I’ve had the teammates that I’ve had to help me accomplish this and the coaches I’ve had to help me reach this goal.”
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Bowser started her career as a defensive-minded rebounder. She didn’t score many points her freshman campaign, which made the thought of reaching 1,000 in her career far-fetched.
But as the years went on, her offensive skills blossomed. Her height and strength in the paint allowed her to become a double-double machine.
And reach a double-double milestone.
Bowser wasn’t really sure how many points she needed coming into the season. Over the last couple of weeks, she became aware because of countdown signs held by players on the girls junior high team.
They were there on Thursday, along with a lot of Bowser’s family, to see her reach both achievements.
“It was an unexplainable moment,” Bowser said. “Scoring 1,000 points is like a dream come true. I never thought I’d be in this moment, in this situation.
“Getting both in the same game is definitely a lot more special to me,” Bowser added. “My whole family — my sister, my brother, my aunts and uncles — was there to support me. That just meant more.”
Keystone also needed Bowser to be on her game against a feisty Cranberry team.
The Panthers started slow, entering the second quarter tied with the Berries at 7-7. Keystone, though, got seven points from Bowser and all five points scored in the game by Jill Winters to go on a 14-4 run.
They pulled away in the second half.
“(Bowser) kind of turned the game around there,” said Keystone coach Andy Traister. “She had a couple of big buckets and the game changed right then.”
Traister challenged Bowser and other Keystone players recently by bringing in former Keystone boys standout Jason Say, who is 6-6.
“It was something I thought we needed to do,” Traister said. “It actually helped a bunch of this girls. They weren’t very happy when he was scoring on them quite a bit.”
Bowser got her 1,000th career rebound early. The points, she had to work for.
Traister, though, was determined to feed Bowser so she could get it.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” Traister said. “And it couldn’t go to a better person.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
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