NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (4/15/16) – The second-seeded Arkansas State women's bowling team lost its first round matchup to No. 7 North Carolina A&T in bracket play Friday afternoon, but rebounded to eliminate sixth-seeded Central Missouri in its second match to stay in contention for the National Championship at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes.

A-State (85-35) squared off against the Aggies and dropped the first two matches (213-182 and 225-181) before picking up a 223-164 win in game three. North Carolina A&T defeated the Red Wolves in game four 233-184, but Arkansas State forced a game six after a 203-173 victory in game five. However, the Aggies bowled a 224 in game six to best the team's 155 and send A-State to the loser's bracket.

The Red Wolves had to play Central Missouri in an elimination match and the squad bowled an excellent 278 to UCM's 156 to take a 1-0 advantage. The Jennies responded with a close 184-170 decision to put the match at 1-1, but A-State jumped ahead by a game again with a 180-167 win in the third game. Central Missouri topped the Red Wolves 222-195 in game four to even things up, but A-State won game five by just two pins 224-222 before a decisive 266-216 victory in game six to eliminate Central Missouri. A-State hit six straight strikes in the final game before subbing in for the final roll of the game.

“I didn't think we bowled too bad against North Carolina A&T,” A-State head women's bowling coach Justin Kostick said. “We took a little too long to settle in and just didn't seem to get any breaks, but they bowled well and were able to beat us. We were great against Central Missouri. Even the games we lost we didn't shoot poorly and a couple of the games we won they posted high scores and we just happened to post higher ones. I'm glad we are still alive and in the hunt and that's all you can ask for at this point.”

In other action, No. 5 Stephen F. Austin is 2-0 with wins over No. 4 Vanderbilt and No. 8 McKendree. McKendree defeated No. 1 Sam Houston State in its first match, while Sam Houston State was able to eliminate Vanderbilt. Nebraska is 2-0 after wins over Central Missouri and North Carolina A&T. A-State will take on McKendree in an elimination match Saturday morning, while Sam Houston State and North Carolina A&T will play in another elimination match. Both matches will begin at 8 a.m. (CT).

The Red Wolves earned the No. 2 seed with a 4-3 mark in the seeding round that concluded with the Red Wolves going 1-1 in today's morning session. Nebraska and Vanderbilt were also 4-3, but A-State owned the tiebreakers over the two teams.

Teams will continue to bowl in the best-of-seven Baker matches in the double elimination tournament. In the Baker format, each of the five team members, in order, bowls a complete frame until a complete (10-frame) game is bowled. A Baker match tied at 3½ a piece after seven games will be decided by a tiebreaker using the Modified Baker format.

The championship match will appear live on ESPNU on April 16 at 6:30 pm ET with ESPN2 airing the broadcast on tape delay beginning at 6:00 pm ET on April 17.

For the latest on the A-State women's bowling team, fans can follow the squad on Twitter (@stAtebowling) and by liking the Arkansas State Women's Bowling Facebook page.