BALTIMORE, Md. – Norfolk State women's bowling finished the first semester positively at the CSU Lady Eagles Invitational, going 5-3 across two days of competition. The performance earned 5^th place out of the 11-team field.
 
The Spartans went 1-3 in traditional matches on Saturday, defeating Howard 825-799 and dropping contests against Chestnut Hill (996-717), Coppin State (971-826), and Caldwell (945-777). NSU responded with resilience on Sunday, going 4-0 in its Baker matches with total pinfall wins over Kuztown (850-793) and Bryant (782-763), and best-of-seven victories against Caldwell and Howard.
 
Trinity Gray led the Spartans individually, averaging 168.0 pins per game, while Jazmin Esquibel (164.4), and LaShauna Burrus (158.4) followed closely behind. Gray rolled scores of 180 or higher on two occasions.
 
Facing Caldwell in Sunday's championship bracket, the Spartans came out of the gates on fire. They won the first three Baker games against Caldwell, the last by 40 pins, eventually closing out the series 4-2.
 
Meeting Howard in the final round of the bracket portion, Norfolk State had to dig deep. The Spartans won the first two games, gaining a 3-1 lead shortly after. With a chance for NSU to close out the series, Howard held on for a one-pin victory in game five, before squeezing out a three-pin win in game six. Down to a final showdown, Norfolk State crushed the Bison 207-163, finishing the weekend on a high note.