Lansing, Mich. – The Nebraska bowling team ended its season at the Lansing Regional as the Huskers climbed through consolation, but fell to No. 3 Youngstown State in the Regional Championship match.
After dropping their first match to Maryville on Friday, the Huskers dropped down to the contenders bracket and needed to win every match to stay alive in the regionals. After Maryville lost to No. 3 seed Youngstown State Friday afternoon, the Huskers and Saints faced a rematch Saturday morning. Both teams struggled out of the gate, as freshman Brenna Hartzlet led the team in traditional format tallying a (211) followed by Alexis Buchert at 198. Jillian Martin added a 192 to the mix with Lani Breedlove close at 180. Kayla Verstraete rounded out the Big Red, but was not enough to combat Marysville’s 991-947 victory, and the Huskers were down 0-1.
The team’s then played a five-game baker total pinfall match. Maryville started strong with a 213-194 lead over Nebraska in game one before the Big Red erased the lead in game two 227-18). A low 189 against a massive 256 would put Nebraska in a 44-pin deficit after game three. With a 214 against a 148, the lead was back to the Big Red at +22 after game four heading into the final game. With clutch performances by Martin and Verstraete, it all came down to the final frames before Martin stepped up to win by a three pin margin to tie the mega match 1-1.
A best-of-seven baker game would send the winner to the regional finals against No. 3 Youngstown. Maryville took the lead in game one (233-159) before Nebraska tied it up 200-190 in game two. The Huskers took game three (224-158) before Maryville had a chance to tie in game four at 229-212. Game five was all Nebraska’s (210-188) before sealing the deal after a crucial double from Martin in the 10th to win (213-205) advancing Nebraska to the finals.
NU then faced Youngstown State in the Regional Finals. The Huskers took an early 1-0 mega match lead with the 921-864 traditional match victory. Martin continued her dominance on the lanes leading at 215 and was one of two bowlers from both teams to tally over 200. Buchert showed strong at 190 while Verstreate and Hartzler tallied 186 and 182 respectively. Despite a lower 148 from Breedlove, she was well covered by the team to take a 1-0 lead against the Penguins.
Nebraska continued its drive, heading into a five-game baker match taking leads in games one (187-180) and two (225-169) for a comfortable 63 pin lead. A 186-227 in game three allowed the Penguins to chip the lead to only 22 before YSU took the lead in game four (235-201) leaving Nebraska with a 12 pin deficit. After filling the 10th, Martin tied the teams at 1,003 to force a five-frame roll off. The Huskers with a near-perfect five frame game, took the win (138-117) and the mega match 2-0, forcing a final “if necessary” best-of-seven baker match.
