GLEN ALLEN, Va. (Oct. 30, 2021)-The Morgan State Lady Bears turned up the heat on Day 2 of the Virginia Union Invitational at Bowl America – Short Pump. Day 2 saw Morgan State take down #12 Sacred Heart for the second straight day and go a perfect 4-0 on the day. The Lady Bears hold onto second-place out of nine teams heading into Sunday's Best of 7 bracket finals.
Highlights of Friday's 5-game Baker Matches:
• Morgan State beating #12 Sacred Heart in Traditional format play 989-966 in the opening position round match.
•
La'Monique Berrios averaged 217.6 for 5 games and finished second in a field of 57 players.
Saturday's Traditional Matches:
Morgan State 989, #12 Sacred Heart 966
Morgan State took control early and held firm to a 20 to 40 pin lead throughout the match and never let go to take another win from the #12 Pioneers. The scoring for the Bears:
La'Monique Berrios 224,
Ashanti Fernandes 217,
Cheyenne Washington 191,
Carrington Beaman 191 and
Natalia Miranda Vega 166.
Morgan State 924, Virginia Union 647
The next match saw the Bears take 4 or 5 frames to get the correct read on the lanes, and then finished in strong fashion in their victory against tournament host, Virginia Union. Bears' scoring: Berrios 236, Miranda Vega 193, Fernandes 176, Beaman 170 and Washington 149
Morgan State 1042, Fayetteville State 795
Morgan State adjusted to the lane transition perfectly with their reads and execution from start to finish by storing their power by playing inside of the track area in a convincing win against Fayetteville State. Bears' scoring: Washington 245, Miranda Vega 225, Fernandes 194, Berrios 191 and Beaman 185.
Morgan State 1038, Norfolk State 775
The Morgan State ladies kept their foot on the gas against conference opponent Norfolk State, finding strings of strikes early in the match. Again they moved to stay ahead of the transition and four players were over 200 in the match win against Norfolk State. Bears' scoring: Berrios 235, Fernendes 209, Beaman 209 Washington 204 and Miranda Vega 181
Morgan State 898, Bye
In the final round of the day, Morgan State was bowling a bye. Both
Naomi Smith and
Aliya Adams entered the line-up and contributed nicely in this final round. Morgan State scoring is as follows:
La'Monique Berrios 202, both
Ashanti Fernandes and
Aliya Adams shot 188,
Naomi Smith 164 and
Cheyenne Washington 156
Sacred Heart still leads the tournament with a pinfall of 9,614 and the Bears remain in second place with a total pinfall of 9,450. The two teams will face off in the first match tomorrow in Best of 7 bracket round play. The winner of that match will get a bye in Round 2 and is automatically in the championship match.
Here are the Traditional Averages for Morgan State for Saturday's matches:
LaMonique Berrios 217.6 for 5 games,
Ashanti Fernandes 196.8 for 5 games,
Natalia Miranda Vega 191.25 for 4 games,
Cheyenne Washington 189.4 for 5 games,
Carrington Beaman 188.75 for 4 games,
Aliya Adams 188 for 1 game and
Naomi Smith 164 for 1 game.
Coach Falbo was pleased with this team's growth. "Day 2 saw our line play improve in a way to best utilized the power our players possess. They really stepped up their execution and pocket carry using the inside oil to their advantage. Tomorrow is a new day. We'll stay in our process and plan to elevate our play tomorrow."
La'Monique Berrios finished second among all 57 players in the field with her 217.6 average.
"It is great to see such a breakout day for Lamo," said Falbo. "She has worked so hard this past year and a half with us and is now realizing the potential I saw in her from Day 1."
Tomorrow the Bears enter the Bracket Round Best of 7 Baker match play in second-place. They will face Sacred Heart, who is the #1 seed in the first match of the day. The winner of that match will automatically advance to the championship match.
