The Delaware State bowling team has taken two giant steps in its bid for a national championship. The Hornets overcame a 3-games-to-1 deficit to defeat New Jersey City 4-3, then won the last four games in a 4-1 victory over Central Missouri this morning to advance to the third round of the 2009 NCAA Women’s Bowling Championships at Super Bowl Lanes.
The Hornets, seeded seventh in the eight-team tournament, will return to action at 5:00 p.m. today against a yet-to-be determined opponent.
The NCAA Tournament wins are the first for any Delaware State University team in school history.
Among the days highlights were school-records for a single-game Baker score and consecutive strikes.
In today’s opening match, DSU trailed New Jersey City three-games-to-one in the best-of-seven match before catching fire in game five. The Hornets began game five with nine consecutive strikes en route to a school-record 277 Baker score (277-195). The bid for the fifth perfect Baker score in NCAA Tournament history ended when Angela Reynolds left three pins standing on her first throw in the 10th frame, the only non-strike of the game for the Hornets.
Delaware State evened the match at 3-3 with a 228-203 victory in game six. The Hornets had marks in each frame, highlighted by seven more strikes.
In the decisive game seven, Brooke Peterson, Jazmyne Hefflefinger and Adriana Jaime began the contest with consecutive strikes to give the Hornets a 99-79 lead after three frames. DSU marked in each of the next five frames to maintain a 20-pin lead (176-156) heading into the ninth frame. After an open in the ninth, Reynolds threw a strike on her first ball in the 10th frame to secure the 204-184 victory.
The second round match against Central Missouri started slowly for the Hornets. The Jennies rolled three consecutive strikes to start the game and ended with three more in the 10th frame en route to a 231-169 victory in game one.
Delaware State bounced back to even the match with a 212-182 victory in game two. The Hornets began the game with seven marks, including four consecutive strikes from frames four-to-seven.
DSU opened up a 2-1 lead in the match with a 192-185 win in game four. The Hornets led 128-121 after six frames before consecutive strikes by Hefflefinger and Jaime. The Jennies failed to mark in the eighth frame, opening the door for the Delaware State win.
In game four, the Hornets led 183-177 after nine frames, but Reynolds struck out in the 10th to give the Hornets a 213-197 victory. DSU had seven strikes in the game, including three straight in frames five-to-seven,
The Hornets closed out the match with a convincing 202-173 win in game five. Delaware State had three strikes and spare in the first four frames, but only led 97-89. Central Missouri pulled ahead 108-106 after an open frame for the Hornets in the fifth. The Hornets responded with back-to-back strikes by Peterson and Hefflefinger to regain the lead. Central Missouri hurt its cause with frames in the sixth, eighth and 10th.
Delaware State is now 119-36 overall this season.
The Hornets are also the only Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team remaining in the field. Defending national champ Maryland-Eastern Shore was eliminated after losses to Central Missouri and New Jersey City today.
The NCAA Tournament championship match is set for Saturday (Apr. 11) at 8:00 p.m., and will be televised live on ESPNU. A re-broadcast is scheduled for Monday (Apr. 13) at 7:00 p.m.