NEW ORLEANS, La. - Oklahoma Christian women's bowling's NCAA debut resulted in the Eagles bringing home some hardware, as OC took 3rd place among a field of sixteen teams. 

WHAT WENT DOWN 

The Eagles started strong on Friday, going 4-1 in baker total pinfall matches, which consist of five baker games, with the total pinfall of those games deciding the winner. 

Saturday, the Eagles went 2-3 in traditional game matches, facing three teams ranked in the top #12 in the preseason poll. OC finished qualifying in 4th place based on total fall from Friday and Saturday. The Eagles 4th place qualifying positioned them to have a chance to bring home the tournament win on Sunday.

Sunday consisted of baker matchplay, the best four of seven baker matches determining the winner. OC's first match was against #8 Sam Houston State. The Eagles battled the first two games but came up short and fell behind 0-2. The girls stayed composed winning the next four games to win the match 4-2.

In the next match, Oklahoma Christian faced #10 Louisiana Tech. OC battled hard but could not take advantage of opportunities and ended up getting swept in four games. 

OC would then face the host team, #22 Tulane, in the 3rd/4th place match. OC got comfortable early and won the first three games. The Eagles had some miscues in game four losing, but bounced back nicely taking the match in game five. 

Scores for each match. 

Day 1

Match 1: OC 960 -#12 Maryland Eastern

Shore 967

Match 2: OC 994 - Prairie View A&M 848

Match 3: OC 987 - #4 North Carolina A&T

1100

Match 4: OC 1052 - Alabama A&M 889

Match 5: OC 869 -#10 Louisiana Tech 995

Day 2 (best 4 of 7 matches)

Match 1: 0C 4 -#8 Sam Houston State 2

Match 2: OC 0 -#10 Louisiana Tech 4

Match 3: OC 4 - #22 Tulane 1

THOUGHTS FROM COACH HAYES 

"Our ladies fought hard today and came away with a third-place finish. I was proud of how they fought all weekend and did not give up. 14 out of the 16 teams this weekend were Division 1 programs, and we held our own all weekend. I am excited to see what the future holds going forward." 

UP NEXT

The Eagles will be back to competition this weekend, October 21st-22nd in Wichita, Kansas, to bowl in the Mid-State Championship hosted by Wichita State University.