O'Keefe leads three events at 2016 USBC Women's Championships
May 20, 2016
LAS VEGAS - Team USA member Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, shined brightest out of a star-studded squad Friday on her way into the lead in three events at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.
The 37-year-old right-hander averaged nearly 250 during doubles and singles at the South Point Bowling Plaza and rolled to the top of the leaderboard in Diamond Doubles, Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events.
O'Keefe teamed with three-time USBC Women's Championships titlist Kendra Gaines of Orlando, Florida, to secure the top spot in Diamond Doubles with a 1,413 total. O'Keefe led the way with games of 258, 256 and 238 for a 752 series, and Gaines added 253, 197 and 211 for a 661 total. Anita Arnett of Richmond, Texas, and Brandy Sanderson of Bossier City, Louisiana, had taken the lead Thursday with 1,358.
The momentum of the doubles performance carried into singles as O'Keefe not only bested the leading score coming into the day, which belonged to Daphne Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina, with 724, but also passed three other competitor's on her squad to take the lead in Diamond Singles with games of 265, 256 and 225 for a 746 effort.
In similar fashion, O'Keefe's rise in the Diamond All-Events standings included surpassing two bowlers on the same squad as she finished her 14th Women's Championships appearance with a 2,129 total, including a 631 effort during team Thursday. Josie Earnest of Nashville, Tennessee, started the day with the lead with a 2,038 total.
Communication was key for O'Keefe and Gaines as the two continue to grow more familiar with each other's games after bowling together for the third consecutive year. They helped Bowlieve In A Cure of Arlington, Texas, to the 2014 Diamond Team title and nearly repeated in 2015 before finishing in second place.
"Shannon was great, and she really helped me out during doubles," said Gaines, who became the first bowler in tournament history to roll an 800 series on the championship lanes during her team event in 2000. "I was a little tricked up and wasn't throwing it my best. We talked it out and ended up finishing strong, and I think our great communication really made the difference."
O'Keefe also credited a better game plan and equipment choices in helping her make the right adjustments Friday on her way to four games of 250 or better.
"The biggest difference from yesterday was how we broke them down," O'Keefe said. "They ended up getting really cliffed last night, and I ended up changing balls when I should have just kept chasing it in. I wasn't going to get fooled and do that today. I wanted to stay ahead of the moves, make great shots, let the ball be the guide and know that if I needed to ball down, I would, which happened in the sixth game. We took what we learned last night and applied it today."
As the head coach of the McKendree women's bowling team and a two-time team titlist at the Women's Championships, O'Keefe knows that although she alone would claim the accolades if the singles or all-events score went on to win, the victory would be shared with her teammates.
"One person can't do something like this by themselves," O'Keefe said. "Any of these would be a team win. I couldn't do it without the other girls."
A total of six players in the 97-year history of the Women's Championships have won three titles during the same tournament. The last to accomplish the feat was Lindsay Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah, in 2012.
Diamond Doubles consists of bowlers with combined entering averages of 380 and above. Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
The 37-year-old right-hander averaged nearly 250 during doubles and singles at the South Point Bowling Plaza and rolled to the top of the leaderboard in Diamond Doubles, Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events.
O'Keefe teamed with three-time USBC Women's Championships titlist Kendra Gaines of Orlando, Florida, to secure the top spot in Diamond Doubles with a 1,413 total. O'Keefe led the way with games of 258, 256 and 238 for a 752 series, and Gaines added 253, 197 and 211 for a 661 total. Anita Arnett of Richmond, Texas, and Brandy Sanderson of Bossier City, Louisiana, had taken the lead Thursday with 1,358.The momentum of the doubles performance carried into singles as O'Keefe not only bested the leading score coming into the day, which belonged to Daphne Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina, with 724, but also passed three other competitor's on her squad to take the lead in Diamond Singles with games of 265, 256 and 225 for a 746 effort.
In similar fashion, O'Keefe's rise in the Diamond All-Events standings included surpassing two bowlers on the same squad as she finished her 14th Women's Championships appearance with a 2,129 total, including a 631 effort during team Thursday. Josie Earnest of Nashville, Tennessee, started the day with the lead with a 2,038 total.
Communication was key for O'Keefe and Gaines as the two continue to grow more familiar with each other's games after bowling together for the third consecutive year. They helped Bowlieve In A Cure of Arlington, Texas, to the 2014 Diamond Team title and nearly repeated in 2015 before finishing in second place.
"Shannon was great, and she really helped me out during doubles," said Gaines, who became the first bowler in tournament history to roll an 800 series on the championship lanes during her team event in 2000. "I was a little tricked up and wasn't throwing it my best. We talked it out and ended up finishing strong, and I think our great communication really made the difference."
O'Keefe also credited a better game plan and equipment choices in helping her make the right adjustments Friday on her way to four games of 250 or better.
"The biggest difference from yesterday was how we broke them down," O'Keefe said. "They ended up getting really cliffed last night, and I ended up changing balls when I should have just kept chasing it in. I wasn't going to get fooled and do that today. I wanted to stay ahead of the moves, make great shots, let the ball be the guide and know that if I needed to ball down, I would, which happened in the sixth game. We took what we learned last night and applied it today."
As the head coach of the McKendree women's bowling team and a two-time team titlist at the Women's Championships, O'Keefe knows that although she alone would claim the accolades if the singles or all-events score went on to win, the victory would be shared with her teammates.
"One person can't do something like this by themselves," O'Keefe said. "Any of these would be a team win. I couldn't do it without the other girls."
A total of six players in the 97-year history of the Women's Championships have won three titles during the same tournament. The last to accomplish the feat was Lindsay Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah, in 2012.
Diamond Doubles consists of bowlers with combined entering averages of 380 and above. Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.