ARLINGTON, TX – The Lady Jaguars had to claw their was out of the loser's bracket but they accomplished what they set out to do. They will bowl for their first SWAC Tournament Championship since 2011.
Southern (53-48) qualified as the third seed for the double elimination bracket at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Tx. They would have to take on sixth seeded Texas Southern in the opening round.
TSU had been a thorn in the paw of the Lady Jaguars all season. The first match would be no different. SU would take the first game for an early 1-0 advantage in the best-of-7 series. The next three games would go back-and-forth and would leave both teams deadlocked at two apiece. TSU would be the first to win two in a row to give them a 3-2 advantage. The Lady Jaguars bounced back and took the sixth game to force a deciding game seven. The final game would not go the Lady Jaguars way and force them to win or go home matches for the second year in a row.
"It was almost the same scenario as last year," Head Coach
Barry Doyle said about the opening loss. "We lost our opening match to Texas Southern, like last year, won our next two matches, and face Prairie View again this year."
The next two matches would not be as close. The Lady Jaguars were able to get 4-1 victories over Jackson State and in the rematch with TSU.
Against JSU, the Lady Jaguars would jump out early taking the first two games. JSU was able to take advantage of misses by Southern in the third game to pull within one game at 2-1. SU was able to bounce back and take the next two to win 4-1. The final game say the Lady Jaguars hold a slight advantage going into the 10th. Southern would need an 8-count on the fill ball to secure the victory.
Jailyn Rogers delivered and slammed the door with a strike to give SU a 203-200 victory.
The victory over JSU would set up a rematch with Texas Southern. The Lady Jaguars had enough of the Tigers and stormed out to a 3-0 lead and was leaving no doubt by winning each game by over 40 pins. TSU would take the third game but that was as close as they would get. SU would take the final game in dominating fashion with a 217-137 final.
The final match of the day would be a rematch of last year's semi-final between the Lady Jaguars and regular season SWAC champion Prairie View. Last year Southern Ran out of steam but this year was a different story.
"I told the girls that we are a stronger team than last year," Doyle said about the difference from last year. "We have implemented workouts, so fatigue was not a factor. We came out strong and sealed the deal in game six."
Coming out strong is what the Lady Jaguars did. They took the first three games of the match by finishing strong and holding off the panthers, 210-204, 167-154 and 183-179. PV would get the first four strikes in the fourth game and SU would not be able to catch up. The fourth game would come down to the tenth frame and this time the Lady Jaguars did not have pins fall their way in a 183-182 heartbreaker. The final game was similar but this time Southern was able to get the job done winning 202-186.
"I told these girls at the beginning of the season that if we work hard all season, we would have a chance to be in this position," said Doyle.
The Lady Jaguars will have to win two matches against Alabama State tomorrow starting at 1 pm. The title match is slated to be broadcast tape delayed on ESPNU on April 6 at 4:30 pm.
