ARLINGTON, Texas – When Bryanna Coté of Red Rock, Arizona, graduated from Central Missouri in 2008, the word dominant could have been used to describe her collegiate career.

She was a four-time National Tenpin Coaches Association First-Team All-American, the 2005 NTCA Rookie of the Year and named NTCA Division II/III Player of the Year all four of her seasons on campus. That four-year stretch also included two seasons on Junior Team USA.

The follow-up to such a strong collegiate career should have been to turn pro but Coté, like many great collegiate players, did not have a professional tour to turn to until the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour returned in 2015.

Now, eight years after her collegiate career came to a close, Coté will make her first professional TV appearance as the No. 2 seed for the TV finals of the PWBA Lexington Open, which airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network.

Joining Coté on the four-player telecast will be No. 1 seed Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, No. 3 seed Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, and No. 4 seed Shannon O’Keefe of O’Fallon, Illinois.

Despite the lack of a professional tour after graduation, Coté decided she wasn’t going to let that derail her blossoming career. She bowled every major event she could, both locally and nationally, and earned a spot on Team USA for the first time in 2011.

Soon after, Coté began to struggle on the lanes. She started missing cuts at major events and was unable to earn a spot on Team USA from 2012-2014.

She has been working her way back to form during the previous two seasons, and the results are showing. She is coming off a 22nd place finish at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, her best finish at the event, and the first time since 2011 that she advanced past the qualifying rounds.

During the 2016 PWBA season, she’s cashed in eight events and appeared in match play four times.

After a three-year absence from Team USA, Coté regained her spot on the team in 2015 and once again made the team for the 2016 season. In fact, Coté is one of 12 players (men and women) who will represent Team USA at the 2016 Pan American Bowling Confederation (PABCON) Adult Championships in Cali, Colombia, in September.

For Coté, her efforts during the previous two seasons could pay off in a major way on CBS Sports Network, and she is thankful for the struggles.

“I struggled for a couple of years,” Coté said. “I wanted to get back to almost my prime, it felt like. The last two years, I’ve really worked hard physically and mentally. I’ve learned from the bad, and I think those experiences have helped me be successful. Instead of being down and being negative, I have to look at it as a learning experience. I’m just very thankful it’s finally happening on its own time. You can’t rush things like this. I think hard work, dedication and patience are the things that led me here.”

The relaunch of the PWBA Tour in 2015 saw Coté make strides as a bowler. She finished the season with eight cashes and seven match-play appearances, and was one of 16 players to earn a spot in the season-ending Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship, where she finished 15th. Coté was the only player in last season’s event to earn a spot without making a championship-round appearance.

But, perhaps more importantly, she learned more about her game and what was necessary to become one of the best during the 2016 season.

“I’ve worked on a lot,” said Coté, who is a member of the Central Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame. “The Team USA coaches have helped me work on my footwork, better leverage at the line and I also have more overall knowledge of what my ball is doing at certain points on the lane. Without the Tour last year, I wouldn’t know what my ball is doing. Just to have the knowledge to make advance adjustments is key. Instead of second-guessing myself, I’m quicker to make adjustments.”

Coté, who was born in Tucson, Arizona, got her bowling start as a young child after receiving her first bowling ball from her grandfather, who brought her a Mickey Mouse bowling ball and bag upon his return from a trip to the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships. That gesture started Coté on the journey that could make a pit stop in the winner’s circle Tuesday night.

To get there, she will have to beat at least two of her Team USA teammates, Pluhowsky or O’Keefe in the second match, and, if victorious, Kulick in the title match. Coté looks at all three players as inspirational figures, but Pluhowsky and O’Keefe stand out for different reasons.

Pluhowsky has, and will continue to be, an important figure for Coté, dating to their youth days, while Coté sees strength and motivation from O’Keefe’s in 2016. Each player will continue to help shape her as a person and as a bowler.

“I grew up with Shannon Pluhowsky,” Coté said. “She’s from Phoenix. She was like my big sister. I wanted to go to college like her. I wanted to bowl professionally like her. I wanted to be on Team USA like her. And now that she’s my teammate, it’s crazy. She motivates me to do well. To me, she’ll always be from Phoenix.

“Right now, if I had to pick one player I look up to the most, it would be Shannon O’Keefe. She’s been an inspiration to me as far as a teammate. She’s very motivational. Win or lose, she’s a great competitor and a great person. What she’s done this year is amazing, and I hope to do that.”

If Coté wins the title, she would secure another trip to the Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship. The 2016 edition will take place at Uptown Alley in Midlothian, Virginia, from Sept. 1-4. The 16-player field will include all eligible champions from the 2016 season, and the remaining spaces in the bracket will be filled from the points list.

For Coté, becoming a champion would add another layer to a dream week and dream season.

“Making the show is a dream come true,” Coté said. “To win a PWBA title, on a stage like that, against those type of bowlers, would be the icing on the cake. It’s a feeling that I’m going to take in, live in the moment, never forget it and watch it over and over again to remind myself anything is possible.”

All qualifying, match play and group stepladder rounds of the event took place July 1-2 at Collins Bowling Center-Eastland in Lexington, Kentucky. All rounds were streamed live on Xtra Frame, the online bowling channel of the Professional Bowlers Association.

For more information about the PWBA, visit PWBA.com. To subscribe to Xtra Frame, visit XtraFrame.tv.