D'IBERVILLE, MS – The Southern University bowling team started conference play by picking up four wins on the opening day of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Round-Up at Cypress Lanes in D'Iberville, Mississippi.
 
"I am proud of the way the ladies performed today," head coach Barry Doyle said. "Coming off a long holiday break, it was hard to gauge how they would perform but we had a good week of practice and it showed today."
 
The Lady Jaguars (29-27, 4-1) opened conference play against Alabama A&M, and they would come out rolling. Seniors Kymberly Jackson and Alanna Coward would lead the team with 217 and 203, respectively. Kelsey Quinney and Jailyn Rogers would both shoot in the 180s, Quinney had 186 and Rogers had 180. The Lady Jaguars would start SWAC play at 1-0 with the 923-897 victory.
 
Southern wanted revenge in the next match against Alabama State. Last year, the Hornets defeated the Lady Jaguars 4-3 in the SWAC championship match. A few mistakes early and a couple doubles late by ASU would do the Lady Jaguars in. Quinney would be high on the team with a 214. Coward would have another solid game at 193, followed by Rogers at 188. However, the Hornets would take the game 935-879.
 
Looking to bounce back against Jackson State, all five Lady Jaguars would finish the game with a 181 or higher. Jackson would lead the charge at 196, while Rogers was right behind at 190. Quinney would be right outside the 190s, at 189. Raja Anderson and Coward would round out the scoring with a 182 and 181, respectively. The Lady Jaguars would take the game by a score of 938-859.
 
The momentum would carry over into the next game against Texas Southern. After bowling her first perfect game over the summer, Coward would flirt with perfection again. She would start the game with the front six before missing in the seventh frame, finishing with a 244. Rogers would not be far behind, finishing with a 231 to help pace the Lady Jaguars. Quinney would continue to show confidence in her game, finishing with a 187. Southern would take the game 989-915.
 
Southern would look to finish the day off against Grambling. Things would not come easy as GSU would come out firing on all cylinders and the Lady Jaguars would be slow out the gate. Coach Doyle would pull the team aside after the fifth frame with the team down almost 30 pins. That talk would ignite the Lady Jaguars to roar back and take the game 937-896. Every Lady Jaguars would strike or spare in the 10th, forcing the game to come down to the final two bowlers on each team. Grambling's fourth and fifth bowlers would come into the frame on doubles and be in position to lock up the match. Neither one would be able to strike, but Coward and Rogers would strike out to secure the victory. Rogers led the attack with a 223 and was followed by Anderson with a 214. Lindsey Ugas and Nyla Wilson would contribute a 180 and 179.
 
"Alanna Coward stepped up big today by throwing a lot of strikes," said Doyle. "Jailyn Rogers stayed steady but has plenty of striking to do moving forward. Kymberly Jackson and Kelsey Quinney threw the ball well and played a big roles. We still have plenty of bowling ahead of us and have to keep this up."
 
UP NEXT
The SWAC Round-Up will continue tomorrow, January 14, at 10 a.m. The Lady Jaguars will take on Prairie View A&M and Florida A&M before the schedule flips back over. They will finish out the day against Alabama A&M, Alabama State and Jackson State.

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