Harahan, La. — Youngstown State's bowling team was eliminated from the 2025 Conference USA Championship on Friday morning after falling 2-0 in a mega match against Stephen F. Austin at Colonial Lanes.
The Penguins will now turn their attention to the NCAA Regionals, which will be held April 3-5. The field and site assignments will be announced on NCAA.com during the Selection Show on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Youngstown State entered the conference event ranking third in the RPI and boasting an 87-30 record against the third-toughest schedule in the nation.
Stephen F. Austin's run in the Conference USA Championship will continue with another elimination match on Friday against Arkansas State.
Youngstown State's scores improved from Thursday's loss to Sam Houston, but the Penguins were 14 pins short in the traditional point and couldn't find enough strikes to keep pace in the final three games of the Baker point.
"Overall, we bowled well and I'm very proud of the ladies," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "I thought we made some solid adjustments from day one to day two and made some quality shots in big spots. Losing two points by 14 pins or fewer put us in some challenging spots, but I feel the experience will make us even stronger for the NCAA tournament. We will let this sting for a little, but then get right back to work and do all we can to make sure we are at our best for April bowling."
YSU made a push at the end of the traditional point with a strong final two frames, but SFA had built a big enough cushion and won 987-973. Kirsten Moore paced the Penguins with a nine-strike 221, Jade Cote bowled a 207, while Ellie Drescher shot 204. Cote had five first-ball nine counts, including in four of her first five frames.
Juliana Kerrigan led Stephen F. Austin with a 234, and the Ladyjacks had the scoring advantage in three of the five spots in the lineup.
The Penguins struck early in the Baker format, with a four-bagger in a 201 game to start the round and a string of six in a 226 in game two. YSU led by 31 and had 11 strikes through two games, but the round tilted in SFA's favor in game three as the Ladyjacks outscored the Penguins 227-183. YSU struck just 10 times over the final three games, and its longest string was two.
Youngstown State's lone double in game four was followed by a split in the ninth, and SFA added 10 pins to its lead despite shooting 178. The Ladyjacks closed out the match by outscoring the Penguins 216-200 in game five.
Friday's Results
No. 2 Youngstown State vs. No. 6 Stephen F. Austin
Traditional Round - SFA 987-973
- Drescher - 204 | 156 - SFA
- Granata - 166 | 216 - SFA
- Moore - 221 | 234 - SFA
- Marx - 175 | 202 - SFA
- Cote - 207 | 179 - SFA
Baker Round - SFA 1,018-978
- Game 1: 201-202 | -1
- Game 2: 226-195 | +31 (+30)
- Game 3: 183-227 | -44 (-14)
- Game 4: 168-178 | -10 (-24)
- Game 5: 200-216 | -16 (-40)
