PITTSBURGH – Jacksonville State survived a Duquesne rally and advanced to the championship match of the NCAA Pittsburgh Regional.
The top-seeded and top-ranked Gamecocks (99-23) were pushed to the best-of-seven Baker match by the No. 8 Dukes, but they made quick work of the host team in the winner's bracket final at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes.
Jax State struggled to get going for much of the match but managed to take a 1-0 lead with a 988-865 win in traditional play. Duquesne didn't go away, tying the match in Baker play and forcing the winner-take-all final round.
The Gamecocks made quick work of the Dukes in the final stage, winning the first four games to punch their ticket in Saturday's title match at 3 p.m. ET. They will face the winner of Saturday morning's elimination match between Duquesne and Maryland Eastern Shore to decide who advances from Pittsburgh to next week's Final Four in Pittsburgh.
The Gamecocks took the Traditional point by a score of 988-865 and were led by the top of their order.
Kayla Smith bowled a 226 from the leadoff spot, followed by a 220 from
Isabel Allen in the next spot.
Maranda Pattison also broke the 200-mark with a 204, while
Crystal Elliott pitched in a 193 and
Rebecca Hagerman a 145.
Jax State fell behind early in the Baker round, spotting the Dukes 90 pins and a 219-129 lead after game one. The Gamecocks would claw back, getting seven pins back in game two and taking a five-pin lead after a 228-140 advantage in game three. Duquesne allowed no room for error from that point, bowling a 203 and a 256 to close out the round and send the match to the winner-take-all, best-of-seven Baker match play.
The Gamecocks jumped out to an early lead in that round, taking the first game by a score of 182-151 and edged Duquesne in the second game, 215-13 behind the lineup of Danielle Henderson, Allen, Pattison, Smith and Elliott.
Allen and Henderson switched places for game three and the Gamecocks finished strong for a 213-166 win to pull withing a win of advancing. Jax State ended the match in four games, winning the final one 166-155 and advancing to Saturday's title match.
All of the matches in the NCAA Regional will be streamed live on BowlTv.com.
