Feb. 1, 2009

RUSTON -- The Louisiana Tech women's bowling team concluded the Tech Invitational at the Lambright Intramural Center on Sunday in third place and recorded their victory on the day against Prairie View A&M in the consolation bracket.

"After we lost to Jackson State in the first match today, I was pleased to see us regroup and earn a victory against Prairie View A&M," Jackson said.

In Tech's first match of the championship round, the women faced the number one seed in the invitational, No. 18 Jackson State. The Lady Techsters defeated Jackson State in the first game of the Baker best-of-seven format by a score of 201-177. Senior Toria Miles and junior Stephanie Hinz recorded back-to-back strikes in the third and fourth frame respectively. Freshmen Houston Granger and Amy Day followed their effort by registering back-to-back spares. Tech went into the seventh frame with a 104-103 lead.

Granger clinched the victory for the Lady Techsters in the tenth frame by bowling two consecutive strikes, and then the native of McKinney, Texas knocked down nine pins on her final bowl to lead Tech to a 201-177 win.

In game two of the match, Jackson State recorded a strike or spare in each of their ten frames and won the game, 217-156.

Jackson State earned their second win of the match in game three, 217-178. In game four, the Lady Tigers started off hot by recording a strike in each of the first three frames. They would go on to add five more strikes in the remainder of the game and won by a score of 219-163.

In the tenth frame of the fifth game, Granger recorded a nine-pin knockdown on her first bowl. She then recorded a spare, as did the anchor from Jackson State, to put Tech ahead 172-166. The freshman recorded one more nine-pin knockdown to earn a 181-175 victory for Tech.

The Lady Tigers took the early lead in game six by bowling two strikes in a row. They then added two more spares. Day and Granger countered with two spares of their own before Miles bowled a strike in the eighth frame to minimize Jackson State's lead, 174-129, however that was not enough as Jackson State took the final game and consequently, the match.

Since the Lady Techsters lost to Jackson State, they played Prairie View A&M, who lost to Grambling State, for third place. The Lady Panthers were ahead after the first frame of the game, 7-9. In the last eight of nine frames, Tech either recorded a spare or a strike. Miles recorded two strikes of her own and Granger assisted by bowling two spares. Tech went on to win the first game, 173-150.

Prairie View A&M evened up the match by earning a 224-192 victory in the second game. Tech had a 100-93 lead after six frames and stayed ahead the remainder of the third game to seal the victory, 177-167.

Tech then won game four to increase their lead in the best of seven series. Prairie View A&M followed with a win of their own in the fifth game, 189-149.

In game six, the Lady Techsters recorded three strikes in a row in the third, fourth and fifth frames. Hinz and Granger added one more strike each in the ninth and tenth frames, respectively, to clinch third place for the Techsters, who won by a score of 194-177.

Jackson believes his team has learned a lot this year, especially after earning two huge victories against Top 5 teams.

"We knew going into the season that we were going to have our ups and downs because we are a young team," Jackson said. "I believe our season was highlighted by two big wins against No. 3 Nebraska and No. 5 Arkansas State. I hope those two victories are an indication of the kind of team we will be next season."

Miles, Tech's lone senior and captain, went out in fashion by recording a strike or spare in each of her frames except for one.

"Today, we had a better showing as a team," Miles said. "We missed a few easy spares, but our level of energy was up, and I think we benefited from that."

Jackson realizes Miles will be missed as she has been with the program for four years.

"Tory was the glue to our team," Jackson said. "We know it is going to be extremely difficult to replace what she offered us. With saying that, everyone needs to work hard this offseason, and we hope for an even better season next year."

The native of Cincinnati, Ohio will pass on the blue bowling pin that each captain holds on to for the season to Hinz. Before she gave it to Hinz, she added her signature to the pin.

"It was an honor to serve as the team's captain," Miles said. "We had a great group of girls, but I am happy to pass on the bowling pin to Stephanie. She is going to be a great leader, and she will keep the team close and strong."

This tradition began with senior Lakeya Smith last season.

Grambling State and Jackson State played all seven games of their match in the championship game, however Jackson State prevailed by winning four games and was awarded first place in the Tech Invitational.

"I would like to thank each fan for attending this weekend's tournament," Jackson said. "Their support for all schools was tremendous."