LAS VEGAS — After taking a 3-1 lead during the best-of-seven Baker System title match, the Youngstown University bowling team watched its advantage slip away.
But the Penguins were up to the challenge in Game 7, getting three strikes in a row from Tallmadge High School graduate Kirsten Moore and Canadian Jade Cote to hold off defending champion Jacksonville (Ala.) State and claim the NCAA Women’s Championship on Saturday night at Suncoast Bowling Center.
“Just really proud and grateful, and it’s starting to sink in for the ladies. Just a complete team effort, and I’m really happy that we can all experience this together,” head coach Doug Kuberski told www.tribtoday.com.
“We get so much empowerment across campus, and they put a lot of trust in us. They empower us with whatever we need to compete at the highest level. Just really grateful to finish the job for everybody.”
YSU came into the Final Four as the tournament’s No. 3 seed after winning the Rochester Regional last week.
The Penguins opened the weekend by knocking off No. 2 seed Nebraska 2-0 in their first mega match on Friday. Then YSU went toe-to-toe with Jacksonville State in the winner’s bracket, but fell 2-1 to the Gamecocks.
“We understood that we bowled very well against them (Friday). I thought both teams bowled well, and it could have gone either way,” Kuberski told http://www.tribtoday.com. “We were one shot away from really winning that match, so we felt confident that we could hang with them and make it a match (Saturday) and go the distance.”
That set up a do-or-die rematch with Nebraska in an elimination match for a spot in the championship against Jax State, which the Penguins won comfortably 2-0 on Saturday morning to earn their spot in the national championship for the first time.
“I’ve told everybody, independent of the outcome, we were just honored to be there,” Kuberski said. “We were having a blast, a great time. Just really proud of all these ladies across all these teams for what they’ve done this weekend, just as a fan of bowling.”
In the first game, YSU had to come from behind after the Gamecocks built an early lead. Cote finished with three strikes in the 10th frame for a 204-199 win.
In Game 2, the Penguins closed strong, finishing with five straight strikes, including another three-strike finish from Cote, for a 248-210 win.
Jax State finally got on the board in the third game, pulling a point back 258-206 by opening with five straight strikes and ending with three more.
YSU retook control of the match in the fourth game, 244-226 to take a 3-1 advantage. But Gamecocks bounced back to win the next two games to level the match 3-3 and set up a tiebreaker, winner-take-all seventh game.
The Penguins had chances in both games, but were unable to string strikes late to close out he Gamecocks.
Heading into the final game, the Penguins huddled and regrouped, as Kuberski addressed the team.
“We talked about how if somebody told you in August that you had one game for the national championship, you’d take that and you take that with this group,” Kuberski said. “The message was really to stay cool, calm and have fun. That was the theme all week long. Enjoy the moment, and they did that. They trusted the process and we just kind of let the bowling gods take care of the rest.”
In the first five frames, YSU had three strikes and two spares, while Jacksonville State had two strikes, two spares and an open frame in the third that gave the Penguins the opening they needed.
Heading into the final stretch, YSU had five strikes and two spares to hold off the Gamecocks 228-203 and clinch the title.
“I’m very proud of our girls,” said Jax State coach Shannon O’Keefe. “They fought to the very, very end. (It) came down to the 10th frame, and as a coach, you can’t ask for more than that when your back’s a little bit behind the wall.
“We had a few mistakes here and there, but I think the girls just kind of did what they’ve done all year, and they just forget; short term memory. They move on and to fight to the very end and come up just a little short, will sting for a while, and that’s OK”
In the final, the Penguins started four of the team’s six seniors. Graduate students Madyson Marx and Moore were part of the Penguins’ first Final Four team in 2021, while Marx, Moore and the other seniors — Cote, Madison Doesck, Ellie Drescher and Lyndsay Ennis — have led the team to back-to-back Final Fours.
“I think what they’ve done to the program and the culture, just taking it, elevating it and growing it, has been incredible,” Kuberski said. “The culture they’ve built has attracted amazing people as well, from junior Hannah Miller (a Perry High School graduate) to sophomore Amanda Granata and freshman Kara Beissel and the six freshmen we have coming in. I think all of them wouldn’t have joined us if it weren’t for the culture. It’s just truly been an honor to coach them and then just get to know them.
JAX STATE REBOUND
Facing elimination, the Gamecocks came up with six consecutive strikes in the fifth game, then forced the seventh game by closing with four consecutive strikes off an open frame.
Danielle Henderson, a two-handed right-hander, finished the night with 15 strikes for the Gamecocks.
Emma Yoder, a freshman from Triway High School, had a pair of strikes in Game 7 and was named to the all-tournament team along with Analise OBryant for Jax State.
The finals aired live on ESPNU.