ST. LOUIS (Feb. 28, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian's women's bowling team rolled through match play in the Hammer Lions Classic on Sunday before falling to collegiate power Wichita State in the title match at Concord Lanes.

The runner-up finish for the Eagles was their second in as many tournaments this season, as they also were second earlier this month in the Mid-States Championships in Wichita, Kan.

OC entered Sunday seeded second in the 11-team field after a strong showing on Saturday in the team-game and Baker-game portions of the tournament. In the first round of match play on Sunday, the Eagles downed McKendree (Ill.) 2-1, dropping the first game 176-145 before rebounding to beat the Bearcats 226-191 and 192-160.

The Eagles then beat St. Xavier (Ill.) 2-1 (162-140, 144-193, 211-203) before sweeping a best-of-three rematch against McKendree, winning 189-164 and 189-180 to advance to the stepladder portion of match play.

In the semifinal, OC downed tournament host and third-seeded Lindenwood (Mo.) 3-1 in a best-of-five match, falling 190-157 to the Lions in the first game but winning the next three games 195-186, 177-176 and 224-194.

That earned the Eagles a shot at top-seeded Wichita State and OC immediately jumped ahead of the Shockers with a 189-169 win in the opening game. Wichita State answered by taking game two 169-148 but OC again surged ahead with a 172-133 decision in game three. But the Shockers threw a couple of haymakers in the final two games, winning 233-160 and 254-168.

The Eagles next will compete in the Jayhawk Collegiate Challenge, which will be held March 13-14 at West Ridge Lanes in Topeka, Kan.