EAGAN, Minn. – McKendree University women's bowling head coach and two-time Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Player of the Year Shannon O'Keefe made history over Memorial Day weekend as she captured her 15th career title on the PWBA Tour after winning the title at the Twin Cities Open held here at Cedarvale Lanes.
 
O'Keefe defeated Missy Parkin of San Clemente, Calif., 213-192 in the title match of the stepladder finals at the Twin Cites Open. It was O'Keefe's second title in her career at the Twin Cities Open as she also captured the tournament title in 2019.
 
With the tournament victory, O'Keefe, who is the seven-time NTCA Division II Coach of the Year, joins Kim Adler, Cindy Coburn-Carroll, Annie Marie Duggan and Lorrie Nichols with 15 career PWBA wins. Adler, Coburn-Carroll, Duggan and Nichols are all member of the PWBA Hall of Fame.
 
"After attending the PWBA Hall of Fame ceremony at the Queens, those legends of the sport are fresh in my mind, and it is just unbelievable to be mentioned in the same breath with them," O'Keefe said. "I would love to eventually get to 20 titles, but is it is so hard to win out here that I am just so grateful for every one, because you never know when it might be your last."
 
The tournament title at the Twin Cities Open was the first this season for O'Keefe and the first since capturing the PWBA Bowlers Journal Classic in Arlington, Texas, which was the first event during the 2021 season.
 
In the championship match against Parkin, O'Keefe tossed a key turkey, starting in the third frame, to take an early lead. Parkin, though, was able to battle back and keep the match close following a 4-9 conversion in the eighth frame. Parkin would record a 4-6 split in the 10th frame to allow O'Keefe to post the win with just a few pins in the final frame.
 
O'Keefe had to earn the title at the Twin Cities Open as she had to play all four stepladder finals matches as she opened with a 227-159 win over Dasha Kovalova of Ukraine, before defeating reigning PWBA Player of the Year Bryanna Cote of Tucson, Ariz., in the second match, 228-163.
 
In the semifinal, O'Keefe faced her longtime Team USA teammate Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y. O'Keefe would post a 247-204 win, including throwing a late five-bagger against McEwan.
 
For the event, which featured 78 competitors, O'Keefe recorded 6,368 pins and averaged 227.43 in 28 games and went 4-0 in the stepladder finals.
 
A tournament title for O'Keefe seemed out of reach following the first six games of qualifying as she was sitting in 30th place with a total of 1,281 points and a 213.50 average. But O'Keefe rallied in the next six qualifying games as she climbed from 30th to fourth after recording a 1,433 to push her total to 2,714 pins and an average of 226.17 through 12 games.
 
In the third round of six games, O'Keefe fell to fifth place after a total of 1,364 to push her total to 4,078 for an average of 226.56 per game and then finishing fourth in the final six games to qualifying to earn the No. 4 seed in the stepladder finals. In the final six games, O'Keefe recorded a total of 1,375 pins for an average of 227.21 for six games.
 
Along with O'Keefe, two former Bearcat women's bowlers also competed in the Twin Cities Open as Cassidy Courey, who was a graduate student on the Bearcats' 2022 NCAA Championship team, finished 63rd overall as she recorded 2,383 pins and averaged 198.58 in 12 games, while Breanna Clemmer, who was a four-time All-American and a member of the Bearcats' 2017 NCAA Championship team, just missed making the 26 player cut line for the final day of action as she finished tied for 31st overall with a total of 2,541 pins and an average of 211.75 per game.  
 
O'Keefe will return to action at the U.S. Women's Open, which is scheduled for June 14-21 at Kingpin's Alley Family Fun Center in South Glens Falls, NY. The U.S. Open is the second major championship on the 2022 PWBA Tour schedule. The finals of the U.S. Open will be televised live on CBS Sports Network beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 21.

Portions of release appear courtesy of PWBA.com website