On To The Final Four! YSU Outlasts Sam Houston to Advance in NCAA Tournament

Thursday, April 8

North Kansas City, MO (AMF Pro Bowl Lanes)

Youngstown State University

W, 2-1

Sam Houston

On To The Final Four! YSU Outlasts Sam Houston to Advance in NCAA Tournament

4/8/2021 12:00:00 AM | Bowling

Youngstown State earned a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over Sam Houston to win Region 4 of the National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship and advance to the final four.

The Penguins, who are competing at the national tournament for the first time in program history, went 3-0 in their region and are now in the championship bracket along with No. 1 overall seed McKendree, No. 2 seed Nebraska and Arkansas State. YSU's first match will be against McKendree at 10 a.m., and live video will be available on NCAA.com.

Youngstown State beat Louisiana Tech and Fairleigh Dickinson 2-0 on Wednesday in the first day of the tournament at AMF Pro Bowl Lanes in North Kansas City, Mo., but the Penguins had to rally to punch their ticket to the final four on Thursday.

"What a resilient group. I'm so proud of the effort and how we are sticking together through the ups and downs," YSU head coach Doug Kuberski said. "The ladies' energy is so powerful and so positive, and it's a lot of fun to be a part of. We are going to enjoy the evening, rest up, and be ready to bring our A-game tomorrow."

Sam Houston cruised to a 1,046-870 win in the traditional set to take a 1-0 lead in the match, but YSU regrouped quickly and took the Baker point 1,023-977. That set up a best-of-seven series of Baker games, and YSU battled back from a 2-1 deficit to clinch the point 4-2. The final game came down to the last ball, and the Penguins won by one pin.

In the best-of-seven series, YSU anchor bowler Emma Wrenn doubled in the 10th frame of game five to give the Penguins a 234-223 win over the Bearkats in the battle of Southland Bowling League teams. Youngstown State then marked in its first seven frames to build a big lead in game six, but opens in the eighth and 10th frames gave Sam Houston a chance to extend the match. The Bearkats strung four strikes together to get within eight pins, but the SHSU anchor hit the pocket light on the final ball and finished with a seven count.

After some of its best bowling of the season in Wednesday evening's win over Fairleigh Dickinson, the Penguins had to grind through an 870 set in the traditional point against Sam Houston as it fell behind 1-0 in the match. Emma Dockery bowled a 224, but the Penguins had an open in every frame except the fifth.

Youngstown State made a lineup shift for the Baker point based on total pinfall, moving Sarah Florence to the leadoff spot and inserting Megan Grams, and that combination topped Sam Houston in each of the five games. YSU started with six straight marks on its way to a 197-190 edge in the first game, and the Penguins then had seven strikes, including a string of four that went into the 10th, in game two as they added a pin to their lead with a 228. A five-bagger helped the Penguins to a 224-205 edge in the third game, and a clean 217 followed as YSU held an 866-822 lead heading into game five. Both teams struggled with splits, but Youngstown State was still able to win the game by two pins and take the point by 46 pins.

The Penguins began the best-of-seven series with five straight strikes on its way to a 247-198 win, but splits in the third and sixth frames hurt the Penguins in game two as Sam Houston even the point with a 209-203 decision. Sam Houston's turkey in the seventh through ninth frames carried them to an 18-point, 188-170 win in game three, but YSU bounced back with six strikes in a seven-frame stretch in game four to win 220-182 and even the match.

The Penguins had six strikes, including a big double by Wrenn in the 10th, in a clean game five that sent them to a 234-223 win and put them on the brink of a final four berth.

YSU had seven straight marks to start game six while Sam Houston began with four consecutive opens, and the Penguins held a 107-54 pin lead in the fifth frame. Kirsten Moore left a split in the eighth, and Dockery converted a nine-spare in the ninth that proved to be substantial. Wrenn opened in the 10th with a chance to close out the Bearkats, who struck in the eight and ninth frames and got a double from its anchor to start the 10th. Needing eight pins to tie and nine to win, Sam Houston's anchor left the 2-8-10 for a seven.

Traditional Point