HARAHAN, La. (3/19/26) – The third-seeded Arkansas State women’s bowling team battled past seventh-seeded 2-1 in a mega-match Thursday at Colonial Bowling Lanes to advance to the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championship.
 
A-State (74-32) grabbed the early advantage taking the traditional point 996-956. Kaylee Back (225) and Amanda Lang (223) paced the Red Wolves individually. Maggie Thoma added 216 pins while Alex-Anne Auclair had 177. Malaya Chavez started the match and Aubrey Kiddle closed it out with a total of 155.
 
Youngstown State got out to a quick start in the Baker 5-game total pinfall portion of the mega-match and the Red Wolves could not come back. The Penguins grabbed a 64-pin lead with a 213-149 tally in game one and the deficit was trimmed to 12 after A-State took game two, 246-199, and three 172-167. Youngstown State went up by 76 pins with a margin of 215-151 in game four and evened the match 1-1 with a 200-192 advantage in game five.
 
In the Baker best-of-seven series, A-State grabbed a 2-0 lead with wins of 181-168 and 236-223. Youngstown State took the next three games, 213-183, 204-181 and 240-194, but the Red Wolves responded to clinch the match. A-State took game six 211-162 and closed out the victory with a 200-159 advantage in the finale.
 
A-State continues double-elimination bracket play Thursday at 9:00 a.m. against No. 2 Vanderbilt. The match will air on ESPN+.