Smyrna bowlers defeat Lady Trojans

Friday, January 1, 1904

The Smyrna High School girls' bowling team will be back at its home center for one more competition in the 2012-13 season.

The Lady Bulldogs will be participating in the TSSAA Division I state tournament Friday in Smyrna, Tenn., after defeating Soddy-Daisy 19-8 in a sectional Saturday afternoon at Holiday Bowl Hixson. Smyrna took control with a 7-1 score in the first game, and its pin-total advantage in the second game sent it to the third game needing only two girls to win their matchups or the Lady Trojans to win by fewer than 75 pins overall.

At Galaxy Lanes in Columbia, meanwhile, Region 4 champion Columbia Central overcame a 4-4 start with a 21-6 win over Region 3 runner-up Walker Valley.

In boys' sectionals Monday, Soddy-Daisy will be an underdog at Columbia while Walker Valley hosts Smyrna at Leisure Time Bowling in Cleveland, beginning at 1 p.m.

"The girls were really uptight when we started, and it took them a while to get loose," Soddy-Daisy coach David O'Malley Sr. said. "They finished the first game strong, but they had got themselves in a hole they couldn't get out of.

"Smyrna has some good bowlers. They were better than us today."

Smyrna coach Donnie Richardson acknowledged that he talked with the team about the importance of a good start in Saturday's road contest.

"We said we had to make a statement in the first game," he said, noting that the Lady Bulldogs (14-2) did a better job in general of "making spares" than their hosts.

The Lady Trojans do have two of their five seniors, Kylee Saunders and Kayla Bleil, participating in the individual state tournament Thursday -- Saunders for the fourth time. And Walker Valley has Chelsey McCormack, Alexis Rutledge and Amber Houchin still competing.

Sara Taylor was the lone winner in the first game for the Lady Trojans, leading them with a 168. Senior Brianna Baugh erupted for a 221 and a 90-pin win in game two.