BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 12, 2023)--Morgan State University Lady Bears bowling finished third in the eighth annual James Brown Invitational this past weekend in their home tournament at AMF Towson Lanes.
 
Sunday's Highlights:

• Morgan State defeated #18 Mount Saint Marys for the 2^nd time on the weekend 4-2 in the Best 4-of-7 match to earn the 3^rd place finish.
• La'Monique Berrios earned All-Tournament 2^nd Team honors for her traditional play on Saturday and Sunday.

 
Sunday's Matches
#24 Morgan State 902, #10 Maryland Eastern Shore 978                                   
In the final round of traditional matches, it was the Hawks of UMES who took control early and never looked back as they had multiple players finding strings of strikes. Cheyenne Washington led the Bears with a 210 game, Carrington Beaman fired a 193, Natalia Miranda Vega 180 and Aliya Adams 173.
 
Sunday's action completed with two rounds of Best 4-of-7 Baker to determine the final tournament standings. In the first Baker match, second-seeded North Carolina A&T faced off against the third-seeded Bears. In the tightest match bowled all season, the Aggies got out to a 2-0 lead. But the Bears fought back in game 3 with a 214-187 win to make the match 2-1 in favor of the Aggies. Then in Game 4, N.C. A&T posted a 181 game. Cheyenne Washington needed a strike in the 12^th frame to tie the Aggies. She put all 10 pins back in the pit for a 181-181 tie, moving the match score to 2.5-1.5 in favor of the Aggies. The Aggies then took Game 5 to take a 3.5-1.5 lead. It was then the Bears fought back in Game 6 with a 223-199 win and Game 7 with a 191-177 win to tie the match 3.5-3.5 after seven games. The teams then had to go to a five-frame tie-breaker match, which saw the Aggies prevail in a hard fought five frames 97-82.
 
Match 2 was against #18^th ranked Mount Saint Mary's to decide 3^rd and 4^th place. After the match being tied 2-2 after four games, Morgan stepped on the gas with a 202-185 win in Game 5 and a 215-211 win in Game 6. Cheyenne Washington struck in the ninth and Johnna Hill struck in the 10^th to seal the victory.
 
Coach Falbo said of the Bears weekend, "A third place finish is a strong finish in this field of team. But our sights were on winning this tournament. The match against a great NCAT team was an epic battle. This team is emerging before everyone's eyes, and they will be more than ready when that situation happens again. We are seeing their hard work paying off in their scoring and fight."
 
Morgan State saw La'Monique Berrios earn All-Tournament 2^nd Team honors in a strong field of teams. Berrios averaged 196.83 for six games.
 
Coach Falbo adds about Berrios, "Lamo was able to stay strong on Saturday with good ball changes and using the oil to her advantage to get the ball to hold pocket. I'm thrilled to see her honored for her strong bowling."
 
The Morgan State Lade Bear's next stop finds them traveling south this coming weekend for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference #2 regular season matches on February 19^-21 at Triad Lanes in Greensboro, N.C.