“It’s a bit frustrating to lose to the same team back-to-back seasons,” head coach Glenn White said in response to the 0.5 point loss his team suffered in the championship game against Southern University Sunday evening.
After earning a No. 4 seed in the preliminary round of the tournament, the Lady Panthers cruised through the tournament and earned a birth in the championship round to face the No. 6 seed Lady Jaguars.
During the first match of the double-elimination series, the Panthers prevailed over Southern 4-1.
The second match of the series proved to be a turning point in the match, as both teams were tied at 173, and the battle for the championship seemed to be in favor of either team.
However, after a series of seesaw lead changes, Southern finally went on to win the seventh 202-179, forcing the Lady Panthers to join them in a game-deciding roll-off.
White said, “The atmosphere was electrifying and competitive. There were many spectators, including supporters from a local bowling league. Knowing that we had to beat them twice made it an intense situation because we were going back and forth the entire match.”
During the roll-off, the Lady Jaguars prevailed 204-163 to win their first SWAC championship title since 2009, and the seventh in school history.
In his seventh season as head coach, his first as a full-time occupant of the position, White says after beating Southern the first time he was comfortable with the team’s strategy.
He admits that injuries did play a factor in the overall success of the season. He had lost two players to eligibility, and had one player was recovering from Christmas-break surgery.
White said, “This year was different because we lost our best bowler to eligibility. This, added with injuries, left us with only five players, the minimum requirement for competition. This alone meant that we would play without player substitutions, a factor no other team was faced with.”
After participating in the three-day tournament that would determine the SWAC champions, White and his squad are optimistic about beginning next season.
White said, “We pushed through injuries and eligibility issues. If we can do it with those odds against us, we expect to bring home the trophy next year.”
According to SWAC.Org, the championship match was televised in a tape-delayed format and will air on Friday, March 11 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU.