Morgan City falls to Central-Baton Rouge in state finals

All through the bi-regional round and in Friday’s state semifinal, Morgan City wreaked havoc on the state’s bowling bracket, recording three consecutive upsets in a span of two weeks en route to Friday afternoon’s finals.
Unfortunately, in the state finals, the Lady Tigers ran into a Central-Baton Rouge team that had just too much firepower, falling 21-6 at All Star Lanes and concluding their season as state runner-up.
Because bowling has no classifications or divisions, these two teams truly were the final two remaining in Louisiana in girls high school bowling.
“I think the team was just proud to finally at least make it through bi-regionals to get to the state final four,” said Morgan City coach Michele LaCombe, whose squad had fallen in the bi-regional round the previous three seasons. “They were excited enough just to be a part of this, and then to win our
first match in the semifinals and make it to the finals was just awesome.”
Morgan City was making the school’s first-ever semifinal and subsequent final appearances in girls’ bowling.
LaCombe said she told her team that even though it didn’t win a state title, runner-up isn’t bad.
“They should be very, very proud of themselves,” LaCombe said.
Morgan City finished its season with a 15-2 mark, reeling off 15 consecutive victories after falling in its season opener.
In the finals, Central turned in a dominant performance with two bowlers recording 600-plus series and three more team members within 10 pins or less of reaching 600 total pins.
The Wildcats, the state runner-up a year ago, were led by freshman Jessie Smith’s 620 series (224, 190, 206). Smith’s three-game 206 average earned
her the singles state title Friday.
Junior Brittnee Robinson added a 615 series (199, 223, 193) for the victors, who finished their season 16-0. Robinson’s 205 average in the finals was good enough for a runner-up finish in singles’ competition.
In all, Central knocked down 501 more pins than Morgan City (3,372-2,871).
“You know what? It was a complete team effort,” Central coach Phil Godley said. “We had a girl in our starting lineup that pulled a tendon in her hand the other day. She wasn’t able to bowl today.”
In response, Godley said his team rallied.
“The scores we put up today is just mind blowing,” he said. “They bowled fantastic.”
Central led 6-2 after the first game and 13-3 after game 2.
Central totaled four 200-plus games in game two. Junior Brianna McCurley bowled a 233, Robinson bowled a 223, freshman Alanna Coward, a 213 and senior Sarah Leduff, a 206.
Morgan City was led in game two by junior Hannah Pipes’ 191, while junior Meghan Amador, who bowled a 209 in game one, turned in a 174 effort in game 2.
In game 3, Central took three of the five points and the two bonus points for total pins, winning the game (1,049-924).
Smith’s 206 led Central, while Amador’s 211 led Morgan City. Pipes added a 182 in game 3.
Morgan City was led by Amador’s 594 series (209, 174, 211) and Pipes’ 551 series (178, 191, 182). Other top bowlers for Morgan City included freshman Mackenzie Amador (186), senior Alyssa Rich (154) and junior Ali Tregle (153) and senior Reagan Barbier (153).
Other top bowlers for Central included McCurley, 595 series (167, 233, 195), Coward, 595 series (243, 213); and Leduff, 590 series (187, 206, 197).
Morgan City’s bowling team is a junior-laden group, but the team will say goodbye to three members, Barbier, a newcomer this year; and multi-year participants, Rich and Laura Nolazco.
LaCombe was happy the seniors got to experience this solid conclusion to their high school careers as they were there when LaCombe was still building
the team.
“For them to finally experience this together before they graduate is a very good thing,” she said.
As for next year, Morgan City returns five of its six top bowlers, meaning the team certainly has the ability to return to the finals again. However, the Lady Tigers will need to find at least one more bowler, because of their eight-member team, three are seniors.
“Maybe it won’t be as hard to find a bowler if we tell them we’re state runner-ups,” LaCombe quipped. “They might want to come out and join the team. Yeah, we better be able to find another bowler or two, but we still, I think, have a really good chance of competing next year, without a doubt.”
Potentially, a rematch with Central could be looming, too, as the squad returns five of its six bowlers next year.
“I have a feeling we might be seeing each other again. They’re an outstanding team,” Godley said of Morgan City. “They bowled great, and man, they throw the ball really well.”
MCHS beats St. Scholastica
Morgan City High School advanced to the finals after routing defending state champion, bowling powerhouse St. Scholastica, 18.5-8.5, in semifinal action Friday morning at All-Star Lanes.
St. Scholastica came into the match seeded No. 2 from the state’s eastern bi-regional and had coasted through its bi-regional action with dominate wins.
In game 1 against Morgan City, the Lady Tigers took a 7-1 lead after the first game with nearly a 200-pin lead (1,108-910), led by Meghan Amador’s 279 and Tregle’s 223.
In game two, Morgan City extended its lead to 13-4 after getting four of the six total individual points as well as the bonus points for total pins.
Morgan City got 200-games from Meghan Amador (215) and Pipes (211) and led the total pin count (2,174-1,912).
In game 3, Morgan City took 2.5 individual points, led by Meghan Amador’s 184 and Pipes’ 183.
The Lady Tigers took total pins for three more points as they knocked down 3,164 in the match to St. Scholastica’s 2,905 for a 259-pin advantage.
Meghan Amador led the Lady Tigers with a 678 series (279, 215, 184), while Pipes recorded a 588 series (194, 211, 183). Other top bowlers included
Tregle 552 series (223, 181), Mackenzie Amador 489 series (154, 157, 178) and Barbier (173, 162).
Kellie Garraway led St. Scholastica with a 538 series (173, 195, 170), while Cadie Mahale added a 495 series (166, 156, 173). Katie Garraway bowled a 207 in game 2.