Bowlers stay perfect, advance to finals
3/23/2019 7:05:00 PM | Women's Bowling
IRVING -- When they needed it most, the Bearkats made some huge shots on Saturday afternoon at the Southland Bowling League tournament. Sam Houston rallied twice in both matches to sweep Vanderbilt in the semifinals to advance to Sunday's championship.
Battling in the winners bracket, the Bearkats, the No. 2 seed and ranked fifth nationally, got down early to Vanderbilt in the opening round of the best two out of three mega match. Trailing for most of the round, the Bearkats closed strong against the top-seeded Commodores.
Led by a double by Madysen Keller in the 8thand 9thframes, and three in a row by Bea Hernandez from seven to nine, the Kats were able to overcome what was a 60-pin deficit to win it in the 10th. The took the traditional game 928-920 to go ahead in the match.
Keller led the way for the Kats with a 223. Hayley Connelly bowled a 190 and Bea Hernandez had a 189.
In the in the five game baker set, the Kats once again got down early, although each game was tight. After three games they trailed by 16 pins and closed it to just three pins heading to the decisive fifth game. The Kats managed a few big spares in the 6th and 7th frames, and then Elise Chambers hit a strike in the 8th to pretty much seal the match. The Kats won the game 172-157 to take the match by 12-pins.
“We made some big shots late in both of those matches,” said head coach Brad Hagen. “What I was most proud of was we never got down on ourselves. Even when we weren't catching the breaks, we just kept battling and put ourselves in position to win it at the end.”
It will be the second Southland final for the Bearkats in the fifth year of the event. The lost to Arkansas State in the championship in 2016.
The Kats will face the winner of Sunday morning's elimination match between SFA and Vanderbilt in the finals. The winner of the Southland Bowling League Championship will receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
“We feel good about our chances to get a bid to the NCAAs, but anytime you can take the decision out of the hands of the committee and get that AQ you take it,” Hagen said. “We wanted to come in this weekend and leave no doubt about our postseason credentials and we are in position to do that.”
