The Namoi District Women’s Bowling Association’s 2022-23 campaign state pairs competitions were contested in Moree on Saturday.
Two Narrabri teams were victorious in their respective finals and will now represent the district in the regional playoffs in November.
Those two teams include Lorraine Scott and Debbie Gleeson, and Helen Woodward and Marie Redman.
Scott and Gleeson prevailed in the open pairs division as they defended the title they won together in 2021, and Woodward and Redman won the senior pairs division.
Both divisions were contested by four teams, which meant that semi-final matches were played in the morning and were followed by finals in the afternoon.
In the open pairs, Gleeson and Scott took on Lightning Ridge duo Heidi Monch and Dixie Skuthorpe in the semi-final and prevailed 19-10.
The other semi-final was also won by a Narrabri team, as Lisa Pillar and Eva Sadler downed Lightning Ridge’s Debbie Ravot and Stacey Reynolds 28-9.
In the final, Sadler and Pillar got off to a flying start as they led seven shots to one after four ends. However, Gleeson and Scott won three of the next four ends to level the score up at eight shots each after eight ends of play, which then became 10-all after 10 ends.
Gleeson and Scott scored a two on the 11th end to go ahead 12 shots to 10 and establish their first lead of the match. It was a lead that they would never give up as they stayed in front during the next 10 ends.
Their lead was never more than four points, which was the final margin as they downed their clubmates 20 shots to 16.
In the senior pairs division, Redman and Woodward took on the Moree team of Kay Van Vecchel and Joan Limb in the semi-final on Saturday morning and won 23-15.
The other semi-final saw Narrabri’s Cindy Neil and Lyn Wedesweiler meet Moree duo Lorraine Bartell and Dot Heffernan. The hosts prevailed 23 shots to 12 in that contest, which saw them join Redman and Woodward in the final.
That match was a see-sawing thriller that was eventually separated by just three points.
The Moree team won the first two ends to go ahead two shots to none, and then Redman and Woodward claimed the next two ends to lead 4-2 after four ends.
The Moree duo took a seven shots to four lead after going on a four-end run before the Narrabri ladies scored a three on the ninth end to make the score 7-all.
Bartell and Heffernan edged in front with a one on the 10th end before Redman and Woodward went on a dominant seven-end run that saw them lead the match 18 shots to eight after 17 ends.
The contest looked all but over with just four ends left to play. However, the Moree duo had other ideas. They scored a five on the 18th end to reduce their defect to five and then added four shots to none across the next two ends to make the score 18-17 with just one end remaining.
Redman and Woodward’s lead had been reduced from 10 to just one, but they regrouped and scored a two on the 21st and final end to win the match 20-17.
Narrabri Women’s Bowling Club’s Lorraine Scott and Debbie Gleeson are the 2022-23 season Namoi District open pairs champions and will now represent the district at the regional playoffs in November. Photo: Narrabri Bowling Club
