LAS VEGAS - There are few things in the world of sports more inspiring than a competitor fighting through an injury to help push her teammates when they need it the most.

Chicago's Clara Lyall desperately was searching to find a substitute prior to bowling doubles Friday at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships, so her partner, Rhonda Ybarra, would not have to compete by herself in the two-player event.

Unable to find anyone, Lyall laced up despite the pain in her knee and helped get the pair into the lead in Emerald Doubles with a 1,187 total at the South Point Bowling Plaza. Kitty Cody of Citrus Heights, California, and Chris Mahana of Eagle, Idaho, previously held the lead with 1,167.

"If we could've found a sub, I wasn't going to bowl," said Lyall, who rolled a 521 series in doubles in her 17th USBC Women's Championships appearance. "I've been having a lot of trouble with my knee. I couldn't bend my landing leg, but I told her I could do three more games. I was in shock that we took the lead, since I only bowled doubles so she would have a score."

Ybarra, who led the effort with a 666 series, continued to put together an inspiring performance of her own as she also ascended into the Ruby All-Events lead with 1,834. Daphne Williams of Mount Vernon, New York, had taken the lead Wednesday with 1,806.

"I told Clara I would take zero, but she said she had three more games in her," said Ybarra, who added 621 in singles and 547 in team to get to her leading total. "She did so great."

Ybarra's 621 performance in singles also featured some last-minute fireworks. Starting with games of 192 and 185, the 44-year-old left-hander needed to get to 216 in the final game for a share of the lead.

After an open in the third frame and a spare conversion in the fourth, Ybarra rattled off seven consecutive strikes to get to 244.

"My husband, Gilbert, came down and said he'd like to see a 220 out of me the final game," said Ybarra, who made her fourth Women's Championships appearance. "That's when it clicked that I must be close for all-events. I tried a different ball for the fill ball in the second game but just didn't like the way it felt, so I went with another ball. I opened early, but I stuck with it, moved two boards right and just tried to throw it cleaner. I'm really happy and excited about my performance."

Now, Lyall and Ybarra will get the chance to see if their performance is enough to have a storybook ending.

"We're like family," Lyall said. "It would mean everything in the world to win with Rhonda. I've never won a title in anything, so I feel pretty good right now, but we'll see in a few weeks."

Ybarra also has the chance to make up for a close call in her tournament debut at the 2013 event in Reno, Nevada. She placed fourth in Ruby All-Events, just 16 pins away from the winning total.

"If someone passes us, it wasn't meant to be, but I'm excited to have bowled so well with Clara," Ybarra said. "We've been bowling together for a long time, and this would be a great place to get our first win together. I'm also very happy to be where I'm at in all-events after the way I started off in team. I wasn't throwing it well or real comfortable to start, so I'm happy to have finished with a big game to get there. Now, we can sit back and hope it stays because I'd love to have a trophy next to my name on the scoreboard."

Emerald Doubles features pairs with combined enter averages of 320-349, while Ruby All-Events includes bowlers with entering averages of 175-189.

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