LADY BULLDOGS BOWLING CAPTURES 2013 CIAA CHAMPIONSHIP

DURHAM, N.C. – Bowie State University never panicked despite losing the first match to Virginia State University in the championship round of the CIAA Women’s Bowling Championships on Monday, March 25, 2013.

The Lady Bulldogs simply regrouped and swept the Lady Trojans 4-0 in the second match to claim the league crown at AMF Durham Lanes. The title is the second in four years for the Lady Bulldogs, who were seeded third in bracket play.

“We knew once we got into bracket play we had the capability to make a run,” Bowie State Head Coach Ken Scott said. “We were blessed to have determination and luck.”

The Lady Bulldogs never lost their composure despite losing 4-0 in the first championship match to Virginia State, which won three straight matches in the elimination bracket to reach the finals in the double-elimination tournament.  After the loss in the first match, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back to defeat the Lady Trojans, who needed to win twice to gain the title.

The second match was a complete reversal from the first match. The Lady Bulldogs dominated from the start, winning 164-154, 196-168 and 202-136 in the best-of-seven Bakers format for a 3-0 lead. The Lady Trojans battled back in the fourth game to take a 149-140 lead, but tournament MVP Shayla Lightfoot rolled a strike for a 150-149 Lady Bulldogs’ lead. The Lady Trojans regained the lead 159-150 with a strike, but Lightfoot knocked down nine pins on her first roll in the final frame to tie the score. Her one-pin spare gave the game and the championship to the Lady Bulldogs.

Scott says Lightfoot was unaware of the situation in the final frame. “We teach the kids not to look at the scoreboard,” Scott said. “She didn’t know what the score was.”

The spare by Lightfoot touched off a celebration by the Bowie State players, coaches and fans. The Lady Bulldogs captured the title before a large contingent of Bowie State supporters who attended each session of the three-day tournament.

“This team is truly blessed to have support from the athletic department, staff, alumni and our president," Scott said. "They come to watch every match during the regular season.”

The championship capped an outstanding run by the Lady Bulldogs in the tournament. After entering bracket play as the third seed, the Lady Bulldogs won three matches in the winner’s bracket, including a 4-1 win over Elizabeth City State on Monday, to reach the finals.

  

Meanwhile, the Lady Trojans had a more difficult path after a loss on Sunday sent then to the elimination bracket. On Monday, the fourth-seeded Lady Trojans had their best bowling day, beating two-time defending champ Fayetteville State 4-1, Winston-Salem State 4-2 and Elizabeth City State 4-2 to make it to the finals for the second consecutive year. The win over ECSU avenged a 4-3 loss to the Lady Vikings on Sunday which knocked the Lady Trojans to the elimination bracket. In other matches Monday, Winston-Salem State eliminated Saint Augustine’s 4-1.

The Lady Trojans continued their run against Bowie State in the finals. They won all four games by scores of 181-143, 183-144, 183-135 and 236-172 against the Lady Bulldogs, who hadn’t played since Monday morning against ECSU. In the last game, the Lady Trojans made eight strikes and two spares.

But the momentum turned in the second match. It was the Lady Bulldogs rolling the most strikes and spares. In the third game, the Lady Bulldogs recorded seven strikes including six in the last seven frames.

“[Virginia State] had a slight advantage maybe mentally but we had a break,” Scott said. “Even though we started flat, we were fresher.”

Scott also had a message for his team between the first and second matches in the final round. “I told them to ‘man up’ and they responded,” Scott said.

Scott says winning the Northern Division championship during the regular season helped the Lady Bulldogs in the tournament. The Lady Bulldogs finished in a tie with Elizabeth City State but won the division on total pins. Three Northern Division teams - Bowie State, Virginia State and Elizabeth City State – finished among the top three in the tournament.

The Lady Bulldogs captured their latest championship with a young roster including three freshmen. Lightfoot, the tourney MVP, is a sophomore.

“We didn’t jell until the last division tournament,” Scott said. “All the schools in our division our highly competitive which helped us prepare for the [CIAA] tournament.”

The All-Tournament team consisted of Amber Slater of Virginia State, Briana Evans of Bowie State, Nicole Sciortino of Saint Augustine’s and Crystal Mujica of Fayetteville State in addition to Lightfoot. They had the top five bowling averages in the tournament. Lincoln (Pa.) won the CIAA team highest grade point average award.

LADY BULLDOGS BOWLING CAPTURES 2013 CIAA CHAMPIONSHIP

DURHAM, N.C. – CIAA North top seed Bowie State battled back to defeat No. 3 seed Virginia State 4-2 Monday to claim the league crown at the 2013 CIAA Women’s Bowling Championships at the Durham AMF Lanes. The Lady Bulldogs bounced back from a 4-0 loss to the Lady Trojans in the finals of the double-elimination tournament for its fourth CIAA crown. Bowie State edged Virginia State 160-159.

Complete story to come later

CIAA Quarterfinal Bowling Scores

Bowie State bowling remains unbeaten at the CIAA Bowling Championships ... Defeat Elizabeth City State 4-1.

Winner's Bracket
Bowie State d. ECSU 4-1. Bowie remain unbeaten and is in finals.

ECSU awaits winner of VSU-WSSU match.

Elimination Bracket
VSU d. FSU 4-1. FSU, two-time CIAA champ, eliminated.
WSSU d. SAU 4-1. SAU, top seed, eliminated.

VIRGINIA UNION DOUBLES UP BOWIE STATE 8-7 AND 14-6

RICHMOND, Va. - It was an early start for the Lady Bulldogs and the team played tough, but came up a little short at Virginia Union by scores of 8-7 in nine innings and 14-6.

Senior Megan Alexander (Damascus, Md.) paced Bowie State with four hits, three of which were doubles and recorded a team-high five RBI. Sophomore Cassandra Clayborne (Damascus, Md.) had three hits over two games and junior Aiyana McNair (Baltimore, Md.) along with sophomore Kiara Washington added two hits each.

With the threat of inclement weather, the first pitch of game one came at 9:30 am and the Lady Bulldogs took an early 3-0 lead in the first on VUU’s Lady Panthers. Alexander was the only BSU player to get a hit in the opening inning, recording a double to center field.

Virginia Union responded with five in their share of the first as all nine batters getting a crack at BSU sophomore pitcher Hayley Flint (Mesa, Ariz.).

Bowie State tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the second only to see Virginia Union push one across in the bottom of the third to retake the lead at 6-5.

The Lady Bulldogs used a three-hit, two-run fourth to shift the advantage back over to the guests at 7-6.

After a scoreless fifth inning, Bowie State’s Washington singled to center field in the top of the sixth, but was left stranded on the bag.

With the Lady Panthers trailing 7-6 Virginia Union's Shakia Mackey doubled to score Kierris Doyle to tie the game. Doyle reached via a BSU fielding error to begin the seventh.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, VUU's Tyana Daniels doubled, then Doyle followed with another double to score the extra inning winning run.

Virginia Union's Danielle McEachern picked up the complete-game win in the opener.

In the second game, Daniels had four hits, including a double while McEachern and Sharmanda Fambro drove in two runs apiece as Virginia Union claimed a six-inning affair 14-6.

VUU's Quincy Lewis struck out three and allowed no earned runs to pick up her sixth win of the season.

Bowie State recorded four hits in the final game of the twinbill, with Clayborne, McNair, Alexander and junior Mariela Hernandez (Del Rio, Texas) responsible for one each.

Bowie State’s next outing will be a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday (March 27^th) at Washington Adventist University. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm at the MLK Recreation Park.

VIRGINIA UNION SOFTBALL DOUBLES UP BOWIE STATE 8-7 AND 14-6

RICHMOND, Va. - It was an early start for the Lady Bulldogs and the team played tough, but came up a little short at Virginia Union by scores of 8-7 in nine innings and 14-6. Senior Megan Alexander paced Bowie State with four hits, three of which were doubles and recorded a team-high five RBI. Sophomore Cassandra Clayborne had three hits over two games and junior Aiyana McNair along with sophomore Kiara Washington added two hits each.

Complete story to come later

Bowie State vs Virginia Union (Mar 24, 2013)

---

Box Score

                         BOWIE STATE LADY BULLDOGS 2013
                     Bowie State at Virginia Union (Game 1)
               Mar 24, 2013 at Richmond, VA (VUU Softball Field)

Bowie State 7 (4-19,2-7 CIAA)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CLAYBORNE,Cassandra cf...  3  3  2  0   2  0  3  0   0
McNAIR,Aiyana lf.........  5  1  1  0   0  1  4  0   0
WASHINGTON,Kiara ss/c....  4  2  2  1   1  1  9  1   2
ALEXANDER,Megan 3b.......  4  1  3  3   1  0  2  0   1
HERNANDEZ,Mariela 1b.....  5  0  0  1   0  0  4  0   1
ATKINS,Erica c/ss........  3  0  0  0   2  0  1  2   1
 RATLIFF,Aurikshauna pr..  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
FLINT,Hayley p...........  3  0  0  0   2  1  0  3   0
BARNES,Alexis dh.........  5  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   4
MARTIN,Kyerra rf.........  4  0  1  0   0  2  0  0   1
LUNA,Miranda 2b..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Totals................... 36  7  9  5   8  7 25  6  10

Virginia Union 8 (6-4,6-4 CIAA)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BORDEN,S. 2b.............  4  1  2  0   1  2  2  2   0
BROWN,S. 3b..............  3  1  1  0   1  2  2  2   0
MACKEY,S. c..............  5  1  2  2   0  0  8  0   0
CHILES,R. rf.............  5  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
CALDWELL,K. 1b...........  3  1  0  0   1  0  9  0   2
FAMBRO,S. cf.............  5  2  0  1   0  1  2  0   3
MCEACHERN,D. p...........  5  0  1  0   0  1  2  1   0
DANIELS,T. lf............  4  1  3  1   1  0  1  0   1
DOYLE,K. ss..............  5  1  1  1   0  2  1  5   4
Totals................... 39  8 10  5   4  8 27 10  12

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Bowie State......... 320 200 000 -  7  9  7
Virginia Union...... 501 001 001 -  8 10  2
-------------------------------------------

Note: 1 out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.

E - WASHINGTON,K 2; ALEXANDER,M.; ATKINS,E.; LUNA,M. 3; BORDEN,S. 2. DP -
PANTHERS 1. LOB - BULLDOGS 10; PANTHERS 12. 2B - WASHINGTON,K; ALEXANDER,M.
3; MACKEY,S. 2; DANIELS,T. 2; DOYLE,K.. HBP - BROWN,S.; CALDWELL,K.. SB -
BORDEN,S.; DOYLE,K.. CS - BORDEN,S..

Bowie State            IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
FLINT,Hayley........  8.1 10  8  3  4  8 39 45

Virginia Union         IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MCEACHERN,D.........  9.0  9  7  4  8  7 36 44

Win - MCEACHERN,D..  Loss - FLINT,H..  Save - None.
WP - FLINT,H. 2; MCEACHERN,D.. HBP - by FLINT,H. (CALDWELL,K.); by FLINT,H.
(BROWN,S.). PB - ATKINS,E. 2. Inherited runners/scored: None.
Umpires - HP: Eddie Allen  1B: Ponce Gerald
Start: 9:30 am   Time: 2:13   Attendance: 25
Weather: Cloudy, 40 F
Game notes:
CIAA NORTHERN DIVISION RECORDS:
Bowie State: 0-3
Virginia Union: 3-0
Game: BSUVUU1

BOWIE STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS MAKES CLEAN SWEEP OF ELIZABETH CITY STATE

BOWIE, Md. - The Bowie State Lady Bulldogs tennis team improved their record to 4-6 overall (4-6 CIAA) after sweeping Elizabeth City State's Lady Vikings 7-2 and 7-2. Bowie State won five of six doubles matches and two of its three singles matches.

Complete story to come later

Bowie State University Women's Tennis
Elizabeth City State vs Bowie State (Mar 24, 2013)

MATCH 1

Bowie State 7, Elizabeth City State 2
Mar 24, 2013 at Bowie, MD (Campus Courts) 

Singles competition

1. CRAIG,Samantha (ECSU-W) def. SODIPO,Iyabode (BSU-W) 8-6

2. BURKE, Brianna (BSU-W) def. EDWARDS,Valerie (ECSU-W) 8-6

3. MANNING,Channae (BSU-W) def. THOMAS,Michelle (ECSU-W) 8-1

4. JOHNSON,Antonique (BSU-W) def. SPELL,Tyra (ECSU-W) 8-1

5. BISHOP,Kassandra (BSU-W) def. HENDERSON,Shameka (ECSU-W) 8-0

6. MACKEY,Diara (BSU-W) def. No player (ECSU-W), by default

Doubles competition

1. CRAIG,Samantha/EDWARDS,Valerie (ECSU-W) def. SODIPO,Iyabode/BURKE, Brianna (BSU-W) 8-1

2. JOHNSON,Antonique/BISHOP,Kassandra (BSU-W) def. THOMAS,Michelle/SPELL,Tyra (ECSU-W) 8-1

3. MANNING,Channae/MACKEY,Diara (BSU-W) def. No player/No player (ECSU-W), by default

Match Notes

Bowie State 3-6

Bowie State University Women's Tennis
Elizabeth City State vs Bowie State (Mar 24, 2013)

MATCH 2 Bowie State 7, Elizabeth City State 2
Mar 24, 2013 at Bowie, MD (Campus Courts)

Singles competition

1. CRAIG,Samantha (ECSU-W) def. SODIPO,Iyabode (BSU-W) 8-1

2. BURKE, Brianna (BSU-W) def. EDWARDS,Valerie (ECSU-W) 9-7

3. MANNING,Channae (BSU-W) def. THOMAS,Michelle (ECSU-W) 8-2

4. JOHNSON,Antonique (BSU-W) def. SPELL,Tyra (ECSU-W) 8-2

5. BISHOP,Kassandra (BSU-W) def. HENDERSON,Shameka (ECSU-W) 8-0

6. MACKEY,Diara (BSU-W) def. No player (ECSU-W), by default

Doubles competition

1. CRAIG,Samantha/EDWARDS,Valerie (ECSU-W) def. SODIPO,Iyabode/BURKE, Brianna (BSU-W) 8-4

2. BISHOP,Kassandra/JOHNSON,Antonique (BSU-W) def. THOMAS,Michelle/SPELL,Tyra (ECSU-W) 8-0

3. MACKEY,Diara/MANNING,Channae (BSU-W) def. No player/No player (ECSU-W), by default

Match Notes

Bowie State 4-6

BOWIE STATE, ELIZABETH CITY STATE STAY UNBEATEN IN WINNER'S BRACKET OF CIAA BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

DURHAM, N.C. – Bowie State University and Elizabeth City State University both advanced to the winner’s bracket of the championship round at the CIAA Women’s Bowling Championships held at AMF Durham Lanes on Sunday, March 24, 2013.

Both teams remained unbeaten after winning two matches in double-elimination bracket play. Bowie State defeated Winston-Salem State 4-0 and Saint Augustine’s 4-3 while Elizabeth City State beat Virginia State 4-3 and Fayetteville State 4-1.

Both teams face each other in the winner’s bracket on Monday in the third round. The winner will advance to the finals and will need only one victory to claim the league title. The loser will head to the elimination bracket.

Bowie State and Elizabeth City State are two of six teams left in the tournament. The others are Fayetteville State, Saint Augustine’s, Winston-Salem State and Virginia State. Both Shaw and Virginia Union were eliminated after each team lost two matches in bracket play.

The other third round matches on Monday are Fayetteville State versus Virginia State and Saint Augustine’s versus Winston-Salem State in the elimination bracket. The third round gets underway at 9:35 a.m. on the final day of the tournament at AMF Durham Lanes. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be held on that day to determine the conference champion. Watch the final day of the tournament on www.livestream.com/ciaa.

Saint Augustine’s entered bracket play on Sunday afternoon as the top seed after recording the highest pin count total from Saturday’s team matches and Sunday’s Baker matches. It was the highest seeding ever for the Lady Falcons in the history of their women’s bowling program.

Saint Augustine’s defeated eighth-seeded Shaw 4-2 in the first round of bracket play before losing to Bowie State in a seven-game thriller. Bowie State won the first three games but Saint Augustine’s rallied to tie the match at 3-3. Bowie State prevailed in the seventh and deciding game 182-177 to stay in the winner’s bracket.

Fayetteville State, the two-time defending CIAA champion, entered bracket play as the No. 2 seed. It beat No. 7 seed Virginia Union 4-1 before losing to Elizabeth City State in the second round. Fourth-seed Virginia State was knocked into the elimination bracket with a 4-3 loss to ECSU but rebounded to defeat Virginia Union 4-1 to stay alive. Winston-Salem State also survived after topping Shaw 4-1 in the elimination bracket after losing 4-0 to Bowie State in the first round.

Earlier in the day, Saint Augustine’s captured the No. 1 seed by rolling a 781 score against Winston-Salem State University in the last Baker's match in the seeding round to overtake Fayetteville State by one pin (7,691-7,690). Fayetteville State entered the day in the lead for the top seed after Saturday’s team matches, which they maintained until the fifth and final Baker’s match on Sunday. Fayetteville State bowled a 673 score in its final Baker’s match which opened the door for Saint Augustine’s.

Saint Augustine’s narrowly edged Fayetteville State for seeding in the tournament, after the Lady Broncos won the Southern Division title over the Lady Falcons by one match during the regular season.
Northern Division champion Bowie State gained the No. 3 seed with 7,568 total pins and Virginia State University earned the fourth seed with 7,432 pins. Elizabeth City State University captured the fifth seed with 7,385 pins and Winston-Salem State claimed the sixth seed with 7,193 pins. Virginia Union finished as the No. 7 seed with 6,825 pins followed by Shaw as the eighth seed with 6,418 pins.

The Lady Vikings gave a preview of what was to come in bracket play by bowling their best game in Sunday’s Baker’s matches to determine seeding. They almost recorded a perfect game, rolling a strike in all but one frame to score 227 points in game four of a 763-666 win over Shaw.