Lisa Pillar qualifies for Bowls NSW’s 2022-23 season State Women’s Singles Championships

Narrabri Bowling Club’s Lisa Pillar was crowned Bowls NSW’s 2022-23 season Region 3 open singles champion last week and will now play at the State Women’s Singles Championships in July.

Pillar, a former Wee Waa Bowling Club bowler, travelled to Armidale last Tuesday where she was one of four district champions in action.

She represented the Namoi District Women’s Bowling Association after she prevailed in the district playoff final against fellow Narrabri Bowling Club bowler Lorraine Scott on their home green last September.

Pillar met 16-year-old Armidale Ex Services bowler Samantha Robinson in the Region 3 playoff semi-final on Tuesday and scored a 25 shots to four victory in just 16 ends.

She raced out to an early 9-1 lead and was ahead 14-3 when Robinson scored her final shot of the contest to make the score 14-4.

Pillar then piled on the next 11 shots to go through to the decider against Delungra Memorial Bowling and Recreational Club’s Karen Moxey, who she defeated 25 shots to 12 in 24 ends of play.

Pillar took an early lead when she scored a single shot on the first end, however, Moxey hit back with a three on the second to go ahead by two.

Pillar then scored one shot on both the third and fourth ends to tie the match up at three apiece before a two on the fifth end saw the Narrabri bowler retake the lead.

She then won three of the next five ends as the score became nine shots to six at the 10-end mark, but Moxey retook the lead on the 13th end after going on a three-end run to make the score 10-9.

Pillar then hit back with a three on the 14th end to go ahead 12 shots to 10, and this time she would not relinquish the lead again as she claimed eight of the next 10 ends to win the contest 25 shots to 12.

The former Wee Waa Bowling Club bowler will compete at two events at this season’s State Championships in July after she had already qualified for the women’s fours alongside her Narrabri teammates Debbie Gleeson, Janice Foxe and Lorraine Scott.

Those four ladies were crowned the Namoi District Women’s Bowling Association’s champions at Lightning Ridge in February and then won the Region 3 playoffs final in Armidale in March.

Pillar has played at the State Champs in both singles and fours once before, and she has also played in the pairs and triples at State Champs level as well.

Narrabri will also be represented by Marie Redman and Helen Woodward at the 2022-23 State Championships.

They will compete in the senior pairs division after winning Namoi District Women’s Bowling Association’s final in Moree in September 2022, before prevailing in the Region 3 final in Armidale a month later.

The Wee Waa Bowling Club will be represented by Dustyn Allen and Kay Dewson at the 2022-23 season’s State Championships.

Allen qualified in the men’s reserve singles division, and the grandson/grandmother duo advanced in both the mixed pairs and the reserve pairs divisions.