After a tight two-pin semifinal win over Sandi Charles, Reasoner was set to face top-seeded Liz Johnson for the title. With 10 PWBA major titles and another 15 PWBA standard titles to her credit, Johnson is a force to be reckoned with. She was also coming off a win at the United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens event just a few days earlier.
“She (Johnson) has 30 years on tour, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Reasoner said. “But in match play, I was the only one who beat her so I wasn’t fearful, I was just going to do the best I could.”
Reasoner’s best was more than enough as she topped the three-time PWBA Player of the Year, 239-206, to claim the senior title. But the Centerville bowler wasn’t finished yet as – in its 34th year – the tournament added a Grand Champion competition for the three age-group winners.
Reasoner was slated to bowl a one-game roll-off against super senior champion Sharon Aronson and super senior plus champion Cindy Porter. After a quick re-oil, she was back on the lanes.
“I thought it was just for bragging rights or an extra trophy until Kari (Graham) told me there was extra prize money,” Reasoner said. “I knew I had to focus.”
It all came down to the final ball. Aronson doubled in the 10th frame to finish with 202 while Reasoner threw a clutch strike in the 10th to boost her to 203. Porter needed a double and a good count for the win but came up short with a 197. Only six pins separated the three competitors.
With the Grand Champion win, Reasoner left Las Vegas with not one but two titles.
“I was a little down on myself after the Queens (finishing 40th) but I went into this tournament with a good attitude, I just wanted to do what I could and enjoy the week,” Reasoner said.
The lanes at The Orleans were just what Reasoner needed to bounce back from her Queens performance.
“That shot, that week, that’s my shot,” she said of the Golden Ladies lanes. “I threw the same ball all week and the confidence was there.”
Reasoner wasn’t the only Dayton-area bowler who fared well at the Golden Ladies Classic as Ann Coleman finished 7th and Kari Graham was 12th – both qualifying to match play.
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