MCHS is making first Final Four appearance

For the past three years, the Morgan City girls bowling team has put up stellar regular season records and advanced to the bi-regional round of the state bowling playoffs.
This year, however, the Lady Tigers final were able to get over the hump and advanced to the state’s Final Four.
They accomplished the feat this year in a big way, too.
Morgan City (14-1) upset two higher-ranked opponents, including the No. 1 seed in the state’s western Bi-Regional, Parkway, to advance to Friday’s Final Four at All-Star Lanes in Baton Rouge.
Morgan City, the No. 5 seed out of the state’s western Bi-Regional, will meet St. Scholastica, defending state champion and the No. 2 seed out of the eastern Bi-Regional, at 11 a.m. in one semifinal.
Morgan City started off differently this year, falling in their first game to Ellender where as in the past two years, they have started strong and fallen at Bi-Regionals to conclude their season.
“So I told the girls maybe we’re doing it the opposite this year,” Morgan City coach Michele LaCombe said of the early season loss. “It might work out for us, and it actually did. It worked out to our favor. They fought all the way through, all the games we played, and we made it through Bi-Regionals finally.”
Morgan City will be playing Friday for morning for an opportunity to advance to the 1 p.m. final Friday against the winner of the other 11 a.m. semifinal contest between Central of Baton Rouge, the No. 1 team from the state’s eastern Bi-Regional, and Ellender, the No. 3 seed from the western Bi-Regional.
The winners will meet in the finals at 1 p.m. Friday.
Because bowling is not divided into division or classes, teams of all sizes compete in the same division, meaning Morgan City truly is one of the top four girls teams remaining in the state.
This season, after falling in its opener to Ellender, Morgan City bounced back with 14 straight wins.
At Bi-Regionals, Morgan City and No. 4 Central Lafourche both received first-round byes and meet in the second round. Morgan City won the match, 16-11.
In the final round of Bi-Regionals, Morgan City knocked off top-ranked Parkway, 15.5-11.5 to advance to the semifinals.
Morgan City’s top six bowlers consist of four juniors, one freshman and a senior. Junior Hannah Pipes leads the team with a 184 average, followed by junior Meghan Amador with a 172 average.
Junior Marissa Davis is third at 156, followed by junior Ali Tregle at 147. Freshman Mackenzie Amador has a 146 average and senior Reagan Barbier has a 128 average.
Other bowlers on the squad include senior Laura Nolasco, who has a 125 average; and senior Alyssa Rich, who has a 124 average.
St. Scholastica, which is in its fifth straight semifinals, advanced after knocking off No. 7 East Ascension, 23-4, in first-round action and No. 3 St. Michael the Archangel, 25-2, in second-round play.
St. Scholastic’s top bowlers are Meghan Kreeger with a 170 average; Megan Bounds, 165; Kellie Garraway, 161; Cadie Manale, 141; Aubry Hymel, 134; and Katie Garraway, 134. Other bowlers included Amy Schneida with a 120 average and Kristen Barcia with a 112 average.
“When I checked out the averages and saw how we’re gonna face up against them, I felt very good about it,” LaCombe said. “If you would really look at our six bowlers that will be bowling in the one through sixth position, four out of the sixth, we have a higher average than they do. Now, of course that means the girls are going to have to show that average, but it does give us a little confidence that we definitely can take care of things with that.”