LAS VEGAS – The second day of competition at the United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships in Las Vegas brought plenty of notable scores being thrown at the South Point Bowling Plaza. 

In Sapphire Doubles, JoAnn Ackley and Christine Ackley of Mabank, Texas, scored well to secure the lead, finishing doubles with a total of 994. JoAnn led the way in doubles with games of 151, 180 and 170 with a series of 501, while Christine had games of 178, 147 and 168 for a 493 series. 

The mother and daughter duo were excited after receiving the news of taking the lead. Doing well in doubles and hearing the news just made it the highlight of their trip.

“I’m just so excited overall, and happy to be here, just very thrilled,” said JoAnn, the mother of the duo.

When asking how they did in doubles, they were very pleased at how they both worked well together. The communication truly paid off as they were scoring better and better each game. 

“I think we just both did well,” said JoAnn. “It went better than I expected and we just did good.” 

Going into singles, the mindset was still the same for the Texas bowlers, and that was just to have fun. Many of the bowlers come out to Women’s Championships for the experience, and this is exactly what they aimed for. This was JoAnne’s fifth appearance and Christine’s first appearance at the event.

“We just come to have fun,” said JoAnn “If it’s more than that, that’s great!”

Every bowler’s mindset is to do well at the Women’s National Championships, and receiving an award just makes it all more exciting.

When asked about what it would mean if their score stayed at the end, JoAnn said, “That would be awesome, it truly would mean a lot.” 

Reflecting on their time here, the Texas bowlers have had a wonderful trip so far here in Vegas.

“It’s been great being here,” said JoAnn.

There were nothing but good moments for the Texas bowlers as they conclude their time here in Vegas, where they look to spend the rest of their trip with their group and head back home in the morning.

“We are going to try to do something together tonight and then head home in the morning,” said JoAnn. “It’s always a wonderful time here, bowling with a bunch of wonderful people, meeting new people and just having fun!”

Later in the day, the Diamond division started to ramp up in the singles and all-events categories. 



Bryanna Coté of Marana, Arizona, scored an impressive 750 series during Diamond Singles with games of 268, 257 and 225 to secure an early lead in the Women’s Championships on Sunday afternoon. 

Going into singles, the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion wasn’t expecting to hold a lead after the squad ended.

“It was kind of a surprise,” said Coté. “I bowled pretty decent last night in team and went in with the same game plan.” 

With her plan in place, Coté had to make some adjustments while bowling on the other side of the bowling plaza. 

“During doubles, I was in the right area but wrong ball,” said Coté, who made a ball change at the end of the doubles portion of the tournament. “It seemed like straighter was greater, so I learned towards that at the end of doubles and decided to be firmer and straighter.”

Making that decision paid off for Coté as she started singles strong and stayed consistent throughout the set. 

“I feel like I could’ve had a higher score, but the pins decide that, not me,” said Coté. “I’m happy with how it went and it was good to finish on a high note.”

After wrapping up the Women’s Championship, Cote is now gearing up for the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour in just under two weeks. 

“It’s great prep and it’s good to get tournament sharp,” said Cote, who also bowled the Open Championship earlier this year.

Cote came into the Women’s Championships in a group that included 17 teams. 

“We’re with a great group and we had a great time,” said Cote. “It was a fun event to be relaxed at but still get reps in.” 



In Diamond All-Events, Jessica Torrez of Las Vegas had three great sets, shooting 673 in team, 797 in doubles and 699 in singles for a 2,169 grand total and an early lead.

Her 797 set included a 288 and a 299, which is a new high set for her. Torrez played fairly straight up the lane, which suited her style and brought plenty of strikes.

“Everything just went really well today,” said Torrez. “I did have to make a slight adjustment with my feet and a ball change in singles and it all worked out for me in the end. This is my third time (at the Women’s Championships) and this is the best that I have done for sure. The whole experience today and yesterday was absolutely amazing.”

Her new high set came at a time when she is looking to compete in more national events, such as the upcoming USBC Queens in mid-May.

“This is definitely a confidence-booster for me when it comes to going into the Queens,” Torrez said.

While still early in the tournament, Torrez would be ecstatic if her lead held to the end of the event, fulfilling a childhood dream.

“I’ve been bowling since I was four and this is always something I wanted to do and become better at,” she said. “Today showed that all my practice and hard work is coming together.”



The great bowling continued into evening, as Bowl Down Cancer Arizona of Tucson, Arizona, took over the Diamond Team lead Sunday evening.

Led by Kayln Arthurs’ 778 series, the team of Arthurs, Heidi Woods (533), Shawna Strause (682) and Kyndle Farrell (693) were scoring high with games of 876, 921 and 889, finishing with 2,686. Their score edged out previous leaders Do Work of Maricopa, Arizona, by 44 pins.

Coming into the tournament, the Arizona bowlers had a collegiate background that allowed them to stay in constant communication with each other. 

“We were actually talking about that before we started bowling because several of us come from collegiate backgrounds,” said Arthurs. “Although we don’t bowl together very often, when we do there’s lots of communication and support from everybody.”

Being the anchor support for the team, Arthurs shot impressive scores of 237, 279 and 262, which included the first nine strikes during the final game. 

When asked how she felt in that position, Arthurs said, “Historically I haven’t bowled fantastically in the past, but with this team was pretty awesome. I was glad I was able to support the ladies I have with me today!”

Getting an early lead in the tournament puts the team in a waiting game mindset in seeing if their score will stay to the very end. This is exactly how the Arizona bowlers were feeling hearing that score was now the top of the leaderboard of the tournament. 

“That would be super cool to be in first place,” said Arthurs. “I know we still have a while to go, but I can’t imagine anything better because we’re all passionate about bowling!”

For more information on the USBC Women’s Championships, visit BOWL.com/WomensChamp.

Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women’s Championships page.