Jax State picked up its fifth tournament championship of the season in dramatic fashion at the Stallings Invitational in a national championship rematch the day after coach Shannon O'Keefe hit a career milestone.
 
O'Keefe entered the weekend with 990 career wins. Her team went a perfect 5-0 during Baker matches on Friday, and went 5-0 on Saturday in their traditional matches, closing with a 1,089-958 win over North Carolina A&T to clinch her 1,000^th victory.
 
The Gamecocks went into Sunday's bracket play as the top seed and won their semifinal match against Nebraska 4-1 in the Baker best of seven series. The top-ranked Gamecocks won the first game 226-164 followed by a 187-176 win in the second. Nebraska had five open frames in the third in a 235-152 loss to give Jax State a 3-0 lead. The Gamecocks had a chance to sweep until facing a split in the 10^th and leaving it open in a 191-171 loss. They advanced to the final with a 211-182 win in Game 5.
 
The opponent in the final was Youngstown State. Jax State took the first 247-192, but YSU struck in third through eighth to win the second 257-205. The Gamecocks came back in a big way with a 248-200 win in the third. Jax State faced three splits in Game 4 and left all three open in a 239-167 loss. Back on the left lane in Game 5, Jax State had nine strikes and two single-pin spares in a 257-181 win to go up 3-2.
 
The sixth game was even through four frames until Gianna Brandolino struck in the fifth and YSU picked up a single-pin spare. Melia Mitskavich made it a double in the sixth to push the advantage to 11. A four-bagger for the Penguins to close the match gave them a 226-203 win after the Gamecocks left the ninth open.
 
In the deciding seventh game, YSU left the second open and Kiera Magsam took advantage with a strike. The Penguins faced a 7-10 split in the fourth coming off a strike in the third and Jax State answered with a single-pin spare by Erin Klemenic in the third and a strike by Kaitlyn Stull in the fourth to go up 16. YSU put the pressure back on after leaving the sixth open by coming back with six straight strikes to get to a total of 192. The Gamecocks got a strike from Gianna Brandolino on the fill ball in the 10^th for a one-pin victory.
 
Klemencic was the tournament MVP with a 232 average in traditional play. She was joined on the all-tournament team by freshmen Brandolino and Stull.
 
Next up for the Gamecocks will be the Columbia 300 Music City Classic starting on Friday.