Academy of Our Lady defeats No. 1 seed Chapelle to reach girls bowling semifinals

Two adages of sport held true Thursday afternoon – it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season, and a champion is still a champion until they’re defeated.

Defending girls bowling state champion Academy of our Lady, whose only two regular-season losses were to top-seeded Archbishop Chapelle, defeated the Chipmunks 21-6 in a quarterfinal matchup at All Star Lanes in Baton Rouge.

The Penguins (12-2) were seeded eighth based largely on the two losses to Chapelle in a five-day span last month. Despite the seeding, these are very possibly the top two teams in the state. AOL went into the postseason with the highest starting lineup average in the state at 946 – four pins higher than Chapelle. No other playoff team had a lineup average above 900.

AOL jumped out to a 7-1 lead after the first game and never looked back. The Penguins led 12-4 after two games and closed out the match by winning four of six individual matches and total pins in the final game, plus the three-point bonus for overall total pins.

The depth and balance of the Penguin lineup was evident on Thursday. In the first game, Linzie Bladsacker fired a 214 game. Danielle Poussard delivered in game two with a 211, and Lauryn Hartsell had a 211 in the final game.

Bladsacker led AOL with a 545 series, followed by Hartsell with a 541 and Poussard a 526 as the Penguins finished with a 2,981 team series – easily the best of the quarterfinal round.

Sarah Rubi led Chapelle with a 538.

In the opening round earlier Thursday, Chapelle (13-1) defeated Teurlings Catholic 24-3 behind Rubi’s 602 set. AOL reached the second round with a 21-6 victory over Central Lafourche in an 8-9 seed matchup.

Cabrini was eliminated in the first round 16.5-10.5 by third-seeded Parkway, which took control of the match by winning seven of eight points in the second game. Jaya Jensen led the Crescents with a 608 series, including games of 204 and 212.

St. Scholastica also lost in the first round 18-9 to No. 4 seed Lafayette. The Lions rallied from an early 6-2 deficit by winning seven of eight points in the second game and six of eight in the final game.

AOL will be one of three area teams in the bowling semifinals next week. Archbishop Rummel and defending champion Brother Martin punched their tickets to the boys semifinals earlier this week.

The Penguins meet East Ascension April 4, also at All Star, in a rematch of last year’s championship match, which AOL won 19-8.

Individual boys and girls titles will be decided the following afternoon.

Bowling Playoffs
Thursday at All Star Lanes, Baton Rouge
Girls – First Round
(1) Archbishop Chapelle 24, (16) Teurlings Catholic 3
(8) Academy of Our Lady 21, (9) Central Lafourche 6
(5) East Ascension 14, (12) Airline 13
(4) Lafayette 18, (13) St. Scholastica 9
(3) Parkway 16.5, (14) Cabrini 10.5
(6) Central-BR 19, (11) Morgan City 8
(7) Holden 21, (10) Central Catholic 6
(2) South Terrebonne 21, (15) Denham Springs 6

Girls – Quarterfinals
(8) Academy of Our Lady 21, (1) Archbishop Chapelle 6
(5) East Ascension 22, (4) Lafayette 5
(6) Central-BR 17.5, (3) Parkway 9.5
(2) South Terrebonne 20, (7) Holden 7

April 4 at All Star Lanes, Baton Rouge
Semifinals – 11 a.m.
Boys
(21) Archbishop Rummel vs. (1) Central-BR
(3) Central Lafourche vs. (2) Brother Martin
Girls
(8) Academy of Our Lady vs. (5) East Ascension
(6) Central-BR vs. (2) South Terrebonne

Championship – 2 p.m.
Semifinal winners