Arlington, Texas – Three Huskers finished in the Top 10 individually to help the Nebraska women’s bowling team to a fourth-place showing at the Prairie View A&M Invite.
Kayla Verstraete was named the tournament MVP as she finished first with 1,418 pins, Jillian Martin was sixth (1,296 pins), Breanna Hartzler claimed ninth (1,265) and Alexis Buchert rounded out the Huskers in the Top 30 at 28th with 1,185 pins.
On the final day of competition, the Huskers started with one traditional match to finish pool play before beginning two baker best 4-of-7 matches in bracket play. NU faced No. 10 Maryville with the lineup of Buchert, Lani Breedlove, Hartzler, Verstraete and Martin. All five Huskers scored over 200, led by Verstraete (225), followed by Martin (216), Hartzler (209), Buchert (203) and Breedlove (200), and defeated Maryville 1053-902.
With a 5-6 overall record, NU earned the No. 4 seed and faced No. 1 Jacksonville State in the first round of match play. The Huskers came out strong winning the first game 223-219, but JSU responded in games two (196-163) and three (239-169) to take the 2-1 lead. In game four, the Huskers evened the match with a 185, topping Jax State’s 176, but JSU claimed game five (184-164) and the 3-2 advantage. NU took game six (212-210) to force a tie-breaking seventh game, but Jacksonville State prevailed and defeated the Huskers (202-190) to take the match 4-3.
The Huskers then faced No. 3 Youngstown State for third. YSU took the early 2-0 lead with wins in game one (211-190) and game two (232-203), but NU bounced back in game three (202-172) and game four (224-207) to get on the board and even the match, 2-2. In game five, YSU controlled from start to finish and took the game 256-151 before winning game six and the match (191-160).
Up next, the Huskers have a weekend off before traveling to Lockport, Ill., for the Flyer Classic, Friday, Feb. 9 – Sunday, Feb. 11.
Individual Husker Performances:
Kayla Verstraete – 1,418 – 1stJillian Martin – 1,296 – 6thBrenna Hartzler – 1,265 – 9thAlexis Buchert – 1,185 – 28th
