FINAL STANDINGS

EAGAN, Minn. – Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, won the first Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour event of the season by defeating England’s Verity Crawley by a score of 236-203 during Saturday night’s stepladder finals at the 2024 PWBA GoBowling! Twin Cities Open, which was contested at Cedarvale Lanes in Eagan, Minnesota.

Pluhowsky led after four rounds of qualifying and was the number one seed for the stepladder, which was streamed live on BowlTV. That meant that Pluhowsky would only have to win one match to capture her third career PWBA title – she won the 2021 PWBA Tour Championship and the 2006 United States Bowling Congress Queens, both of which were majors.

Saturday night’s stepladder started with Crawley taking on reigning U.S. Amateur champion Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida, who was competing in her first tournament as a PWBA member. 

Nevertheless, Crawley did not show the rookie any compassion as she recorded 11 strikes in a row to start the opening match before leaving a seven count on her final shot to finish with 297. Elliott fought valiantly and ended with a 225 of her own, but it wasn’t nearly enough, allowing Crawley to advance and leaving Elliott to settle for a fifth-place finish and $5,500.

Up next for Crawley was reigning PWBA Player of the Year Jordan Richard out of Tipton, Michigan, who came to Eagan looking to win her sixth PWBA title after reaching the winner’s circle three times last season.

The match proved to be a good one with the two competitors going shot-for-shot with one another, which didn’t allow either player to pull away as the final frames approached. 

However, Richard was presented with the opportunity to shut Crawley out after Crawley left a 7-pin in the ninth frame. That meant that if Richard could double during the 10th frame, she’d move on to the semifinals.

But Richard’s first ball went wide and never recovered, leaving the 2-8-10 split, which she was  unable to convert. That gave Richard a final score of 222, which meant Crawley only needed to mark in the 10th to secure the win. 

Crawley was up to the task as she delivered a strike on her first ball of the final frame to clinch the victory and move on by a final score of 244-222.

Richard collected $6,500 for her fourth-place finish.

In the semifinal match, Crawley’s opponent was five-time PWBA Tour titlist and 2021 Rookie of the Year Stephanie Zavala of Long Beach, California.

Crawley got into trouble early on, opening for the first time in three matches after leaving the 6-7-10 split during the third frame. Zavala, on the other hand, kept her game clean through three frames to take the early lead. 

However, a ball change for Crawley proved to be the difference as after making the switch, she connected for five straight strikes to erase the damage from the open frame and put herself back in the driver’s seat once again. 

Zavala tried to hang with her, but back-to-back opens in the seventh and eighth frames sunk her chances and only allowed her to finish with 172. 

Riding the momentum of the ball change, Crawley, meanwhile, ended with 232 to win her third match in a row and earn the right to bowl Pluhowsky for the title. 

Zavala earned $7,500 for finishing third.

Crawley entered the championship match sporting a 3-0 record on the night and having averaged over 257 while inching ever closer to her third career PWBA title. At that point, the only thing that appeared to be standing in her way was Pluhowsky.

But Crawley soon found herself battling an additional adversary once the title match began, bad pin carry.

The good carry that Crawley enjoyed during the three previous games disappeared completely in the title match as the right-hander left five 10-pins during the first seven frames.

Meanwhile, working from the left side, Pluhowsky struck on seven of her first eight shots with her only miss being a 4-6 split.

Despite the momentary hiccup of the open frame, Pluhowsky had full control of the match from start to finish. 

Crawley threw her only double of the match during the 10th frame to end with a 203, but by then, Pluhowsky only needed a few pins to clinch the title, which she promptly did with a strike that allowed her to finish at 236 for the title and the $20,000 top prize.

Crawley earned $10,000 for her runner-up finish.

During the finals, Pluhowsky used the same strategy that won her the 2021 PWBA Tour Championship.

“I didn’t practice very much on the pair, only a few shots to keep it as fresh as possible,” Pluhowsky said. 

After the first two rounds of qualifying, Pluhowsky was in a tie for 16th place, but she climbed her way to the top seed by averaging over 233 during rounds three and four. 

Past experiences as the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals have not always been kind to Pluhowsky, so it was a relief for her to come away with the win.

“To finally be the top seed and win, I always say I’d rather be there and only have to bowl one game, and it’s a 50/50 chance to win. This time, I got the good side of it,” Pluhowsky said.

With a win at the season opener under her belt, Pluhowsky will look to make it two in a row next week when the PWBA Tour heads to The Cherry Bowl in Rockford, Illinois, for Bowlers Journal Rockford Open, which will take place from May 8-11. 

For more information on the PWBA, visit PWBA.com.