FINAL BRACKET

(BATON ROUGE, La., April 22)—For the second time in a week, the McKendree University women's bowling team has captured a national championship at the Raising Cane's River Center in Baton Rouge, La. 

The Bearcats battled to a 3-2 victory over Webber International University Saturday afternoon in the title match of the 2017 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championships. McKendree is just the second institution to win both the NCAA and ITC championships in the same year. The University of Maryland-Eastern Shore pulled off the rare double back in 2011.

Just seven days ago, McKendree rolled through an eight-team field in the same facility in Baton Rouge to win its first-ever NCAA Women's Bowling national championship. 

"After winning (the NCAA championship) last week, coming off that high and be able regain focus, to deal with a little more adversity and to perform the way they did to win another championship is just incredible," said McKendree women's bowling coach Shannon O'Keefe. "It shows how mentally tough they are, and just how talented they are. It's been a great two weeks for our program, and I'm just so proud of what they have been able to accomplish."

The fifth and deciding game came down to the 10th frame. An open frame by Webber International handed McKendree a slight lead, which was solidified in the seventh frame thanks to a strike from junior Jessica Mellott (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Coral Springs Charter). After both teams posted an open frame in the eighth, the Bearcats still held an advantage going into the ninth frame. A mark by freshman Taylor Bailey (Joliet, IL/Joliet West) enabled McKendree to carry an 11-pin lead going into the 10th frame.

Freshman Breanna Clemmer (Clover, SC/Clover) put the pressure on the Warriors by throwing a strike and closing out with a spare. Webber International needed two strikes to claim the national title, but a seven-count on the first ball gave McKendree its first Intercollegiate Team Championship national title. This was the Bearcats' 13th consecutive appearance in the ITCs. 

"We really fought through that last game," said O'Keefe. "We had a few missteps, but our ladies showed their fortitude as we got to the finish. They made some shots when we needed them the most."

McKendree earned the No. 4 seed after 24 Baker games of qualifying on Thursday. The Bearcats won their first three matches in the double-elimination bracket before dropping a seven-game match to Midland University in the first semifinal contest. McKendree rebounded with a 4-1 triumph over Midland to advance to Saturday's championship contest. 

In game one on Saturday, McKendree open with three consecutive strikes courtesy of junior Sarah Wille (Hoffman Estates, IL/Hoffman Estates), Mellott and sophomore Lauren Pate (Inver Groves Heights, MN/Simley). The triple gave the Bearcats an early lead they would not relinquish. McKendree also took advantage of three open frames from Webber International on its way to a 206-157 win. 

The Bearcats and Warriors went shot-for-shot over the first half of game two as the teams were tied after five frames of action. However, McKendree was able to string together three strikes in a row from the fifth through seventh frames to surge in front. Freshman Breanna Clemmer (Clover, SC/Clover) started the run with a strike in the fifth frame, followed by strikes from Wille in the sixth and Mellott in the seventh. The Bearcats took a comfortable lead into the 10th frame, but Webber International's anchor bowler threw the first two strikes in the frame to get the Warriors within striking distance.

With McKendree needing just a mark in the 10th frame to shut out Webber International, Clemmer stepped up and tossed a strike on her first shot to give the Bearcats a 2-0 advantage in the match. 

Game three was close early until Webber International rolled three straight strikes from the fifth through seventh frames to move in front to stay. The Warriors stayed alive in the match by claiming a 211-178 decision over McKendree. Things were even through the first half of game four before an open frame from the Warriors in the sixth frame, combined with strikes from Clemmer in the fifth and Wille in the sixth, The Bearcats carried a slight lead into the final frame before Webber International's anchor bowler three strikes in the 10th to hold off McKendree, 196-194.