Jan. 31, 2009
RUSTON -- The Lady Techsters concluded the first day of their Tech Invitational, held at the Lambright Intramural Center on the LA Tech campus, in fourth place with a total pinfall of 2496.
No. 18 Jackson State concluded the day in first place with a total pinfall of 2819. Grambling State finished second with a total pinfall of 2787, and Prairie View A&M finished third with a total pinfall of 2720.
Tech opened the tournament against Grambling State. In the first six frames of the game, freshman Houston Granger recorded five strikes and one spare. She would go on to add one more strike and two more spares in the last five frames, however her 220-total pin effort was not enough as Grambling State defeated the Lady Techsters 837-799.
"We started off slow and dug ourselves into a hole," Tech head coach Shawn Jackson said. "Thankfully, we were able turn it around against Prairie View A&M."
After jumping out to an early 93-74 lead against Prairie View A&M, the Lady Techsters continued their strong effort through the fifth frame as they led 381-325. Freshman Amy Day recorded a spare in each of the first five frames. Day and junior Stephanie Hinz increased Tech's lead in the eighth frame after they registered back-to-back strikes.
Coach Jackson and Co. had a 44-pin lead going into the tenth frame. Hinz recorded a 9-pin knock-down followed by a spare and then a strike. Lady Panther Misty Dawson recorded two strikes in the tenth frame to minimize the Techsters lead, however she recorded a 9-pin knock down on her final bowl to seal the victory for Tech, 826-797.
In Tech's final match of the day, they squared off against No. 18 Jackson State. The Lady Techsters jumped to an early 104-92 lead after the first frame. Jackson State rallied in the third frame before they took a 390-345 lead in the fourth. They held on to the lead through the remainder of the game and won by a score of 978-871.
Hinz led Tech in their final game of the day with a score of 204.
"I was extremely happy with the turnout we had today from our fans," Jackson said. "The crowd was great, and I would like to thank everyone for attending. I hope for an even better turnout tomorrow."
The Lady Techsters will play the first seed, Jackson State, once again in the championship round of the Tech Invitational Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m. They will then play either Grambling State or Prairie View A&M.
"We are going into the final day of the tournament tomorrow seeded fourth, which means we will be playing the number one seed," Jackson said. "We can beat any of the teams here, but we need to come out and play our best."
Fans have one more opportunity to see the Lady Techsters play this season on the LA Tech campus. Admission to the final day of the tournament is free.
