BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 31, 2022)-The Morgan State Lady Bears rallied to win their third tournament of the season, by winning the Best-of-7 Baker championship match on Sunday at the Red Flash Invitational at Holiday Bowl in Altoona, Pa.
 
Match 1: Saint Francis (Pa.) 4, Morgan State 3
Coming into today's championship bracket round, Morgan State was in first place among the 13 teams in the field and led the field by 417 pins after Friday's traditional play and Saturday's five-game Baker matches. The Lady Bears had to face Saint Francis (Pa.), the host team and second-seed in the tournament in their opening match. Morgan State got a hot start which is in their nature in Game #1, firing a 225 to the Red Flash's 158. It was there Saint Francis turned the tables on the Bears to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the match. The Bears were able to win the next two games to lock the match at 3-3. In Game 7 however, open frames hurt the Bears as Saint Francis stayed consistent and took the opening match 4-3.
 
Match 2: Morgan State 4, Walsh 2
In the semi-final round, Morgan State played Walsh University which had defeated Wilmington University in the first round. Morgan won Game #1 216-169, then proceeded to drop the next two games, putting Walsh up 2-1. From that point, the Bears found their energy and a consistent look to win the next three games to take the match, rolling games of 202, 202 & 177.
 
Championship Match: Morgan State 4, Saint Francis (Pa.) 1
In the championship match, the Bears faced their Round #1 opponent, Saint Francis University. Like before, Morgan State caught fire in Game #1, outscoring the Red Flash 233-205. Morgan State stayed tough with games of 189 and 174 to take a 3-0 lead. Saint Francis battled back hard in Game #4, beating Morgan State 196-160, but in the Game #5 Morgan got settled and prevailed with a 204-168 victory to earn the championship title.
 
Morgan State head coach Thomas Falbo, who is from the Altoona, Pa. area and previously coached Saint Francis (Pa.) from 2010-2018, stated what the weekend meant to him.
 
"It didn't hit me until the strikes in our ninth and 10th frame. I coached every moment until the contest was decided, because Saint Francis is a team getting better every week, so their fine play and the energy of their crowd lifted them throughout our previous matches," said Falbo. "But in those final 2 frames, it took me back to learning to bowl in that center from my dad, seeing him win events there, and in that moment he was with me."
 
"To see them score so well in a tough house and win at Holiday Bowl matched the blessings in many ways. Their fight is getting better each time out. I'm proud of the ladies, their execution and their hard work earned victory this weekend. We're going to continue to work hard as we look forward to hosting the James Brown Invitational in two weeks."
 
Morgan State Baker Averages: Natalia Miranda Vega 20.47, Aliya Adams 20.3, La'Monique Berrios 19.83, Ashanti Fernandes 18.2, Cheyenne Washington 17.96, Naomi Smith 15.27 and Carrington Beaman 15.0
 
Morgan State junior, La'Monique Berrios earned Most Valuable Player honors of the All-Tournament Team with her strong 220.0 traditional game average for her five games bowled in Friday's round of traditional matches. Her teammate, sophomore, Cheyenne Washington also earned All-Tournament Team honors, finishing second overall in the field with a 204.0 average.
"La'Monique has put herself in a different mental place this season, which comes in the wake of a lot of disciplined work in her game, especially in her ability to make quick and correct changes," said Falbo. "She had a tremendous showing. Cheyenne has won multiple honors herself this season. This past weekend was a true look at her potential in the opening games on Friday and I was thrilled for her. Congratulations to both La'Monique and Cheyenne for a great weekend!"
 
Morgan State will next be in action as they host the James Brown Invitational at AMF Towson Lanes in Towson, Maryland on February 11-13, 2022.

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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.