ARLINGTON, Texas | The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) tournament run for the defending champion Alabama State ending in the semifinals with a 4-1 loss to Jackson State at the International Training and Research Center Saturday.
After dropping their second match of the day to Texas Southern, who will play in the championship match on Sunday, the Lady Hornets needed three consecutive wins – meaning they would end the day with the maximum number of matches they could play in the Contenders Bracket, five.
The Lady Hornets answered the call, defeating Alabama A&M 4-2 in their third series of the day. Alabama State came storming back after dropping the first game, by winning games two (177-138), three (173-114) and four (186-170). After Alabama A&M won game five, the Lady Hornets claimed a win in game six, 225-159.
After their second win of the day, Alabama State advanced to face Southern for a second time on the day and won the series 4-0 to advance to the semifinal matchup with Jackson State.
The Lady Hornets won all four games easily, winning the first by 21 pins (188-167) and the second by 31 pins (203-172). They came back to win game three 194-163 to take a commanding 3-0 lead, before winning the final game by just three pins 181-178 to advance to the semifinals.
In their match against Jackson State, with a championship berth on the line, the Lady Hornets fell behind 1-0 when the Tigers filled their frames for a 224-223 lead. Alabama State bounced back to win the second game in the series 190-176 and looked poised to extend the match, until Jackson State came back and took advantage of six strikes in the game for a 199-183 victory and a 2-1 lead.
Jackson State would extend their lead to 3-1 after winning game three 171-135, before Alabama State opened game five with a pair of strikes. After a pair of frames that left pins, Alabama State bounced back with a pair of strikes to put the pressure back on Jackson State. The two teams went into the final frame, with Jackson State picking up back-to-back strikes to pick up the 185-180 victory in the game for a 4-1 overall victory.
Alabama State opened the day with a 4-2 win over Southern, before falling 4-1 to Texas Southern to fall into the Contenders Bracket. In the opener, Alabama State jumped on top 3-0 with wins in game one (221-193), two (235-142) and three (173-141) before Southern was able to come back and win games four and five. The Lady Hornets put the match away with a 215-175 victory in game six.
In their match against Texas Southern, the Lady Hornets fell behind early as they dropped the first three games to the top-seeded Lady Tigers. Alabama State was able to come back win game four (201-193), before coming up short in game five to fall to the bottom of the bracket.
The Lady Hornets finished off one of the most successful seasons in school history, recording 71 victories and winning the conference regular season championship The Lady Hornets had three players named All-Conference, while also winning Coach of the Year (
Andrew Chatmon) and Freshman of the Year (
Alize Stevenson). Senior
Jessica Sawmiller was named All-Tournament for her performance on Friday in qualifying, and Alabama State appeared in the top 25 of the NTCA poll and the top 20 in the NCAA RPI this season.
Follow the Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University women's bowling, please follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateBowl (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.
