TOWSON, Md. --- The Delaware State University bowling team finished 2nd at the James Brown Invitational hosted by Morgan State University this past weekend.  

The Hornets posted an 8-2 record during Friday and Saturday's matches, starting strong with back-to-back wins over Kutztown and Mount Saint Mary's. 

After suffering the first loss of the weekend to Duquesne, Delaware State bounced back with four-straight wins over Mt. Aloysius, St. Francis Brooklyn, Morgan State and North Carolina A & T. 

The Hornets wrapped Saturday's matches taking two wins in three matches with opponents University of Maryland Eastern Shore, St. Francis Brooklyn and Felican University. 

Heading into the final day of the tournament, Delaware State held the second seed as the top four teams had the chance to compete for the James Brown Invitational championship. The Hornets fell to North Carolina A&T in the opening match. Still with a chance to compete for the tournament championship, the Hornets came through defeating Duquesne 4-3 to take on the tournament's number one seed, North Carolina A&T. 

The Hornets fell in the championship match to North Carolina A&T 4-1 to finish second overall in a field of 14 teams.  The second-place finish marks the highest finish for Delaware State this season. 

Individually, Delaware State was led by the freshman phenom Sydney Reardon who tallied her first top-five placement and her second top-10 finish during her rookie campaign. Reardon took fourth overall as she knocked down 1,077 pins on the weekend for an average of 215.40 per game. Her highest came in game one when she threw a 266. Reardon was also named to the James Brown Invitational All-Tournament Team for her performance. 

Sophomore Saralyne Nassberg came home with a top-10 finish herself as she finished ninth with a total of 1,059 pins knocked down. She averaged 211.80 for the week with her highest coming in game four as she bowled a 228. 

Alyssa Breidegam finished in the top half of the 95-bowler field having finished 13th overall after knocking down 1,048 pins averaging 209.60 pins per game. 

Senior captain Stefanny Toala said "Before the tournament this past weekend, we all sat down, discussed our stats, and saw where we are compared to all teams. We made specific goals from the stats to focus on from here on out. This past weekend we saw the execution of a lot of those goals, and it was so fun. This was such a great start to our move up in rankings and our confidence. We are really excited to keep this momentum going for the next two weekends" when asked about the team's performance this weekend. 

Freshman Kelsey Cummings added "Going into this past weekend communicating more frequently and more clearly with each other was a big goal of ours and our performance really reflected it. When we hit rough patches, we never gave up, controlled our emotions, and focused on ourselves. After a strong 2nd place finish, we are ready to get back to practice and get ready for the next upcoming tournaments."

The Hornets will endure a quick turnaround as they return to action this weekend for the second round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament hosted by Norfolk State University.