CORPUS CHRISTI - It was the first runaway victory in the 17-year history of the Bluebonnet Queens Tournament. Donna Dillon of Greenville, who grew up in Dallas and won the tournament in 1977 and '78, almost lapped the field in capturing the state's most prestigious women's bowling event. Dillon, 33, averaged 218 in Sunday's 10-game match-play finals. After losing the opening match to Mary Betke of Waco, 264-224, she won nine straight. Only Dillon and Regina Hillier-Loveall of Amarillo have won three Bluebonnet titles. Dillon finished at plus 456 - 303 ahead of runner-up Betke. Judy Rector of HOuston was third, followed by Cass Leal of Houston, Linda Urbanek of Montgomery County, Susie Reichley of Dallas, Shelly Buchholtz of San Antonio, Donna Conners of Houston, Judy Griffin of Tyler and Loveall.
"I had wanted to win this third one so bad," Dillon said. "I had to wait a long time. Now I want to be the first to win four times." Dillon's hopes of winning this year were not too high. "I had been so busy, I had not practiced and I had been bowling only three games a week," Dillon said. "I really had my doubts when I started Saturday with 169 and 175 games. I was falling all over myself. Then, all of a sudden, my timing was there. Everything felt just right."
Dillon wasn't discouraged when she lost Sunday's opening match with a 224. "I've never seen a woman's tournament when I wouldn't take a 224," Dillon said. "After the second game today, I told a friend that this was my tournament. I'd never felt like that before. I said, 'This is it, I'm going to win.' I found a good shot where I had a little area. I didn't bowl any big, big games, but I was consistent. I knew it was my day. I don't think I've ever bowled any better."
Dillon led Reichley by only 12 pins when they met in the fourth game. Dillon won, 227-163, for a 106-pin advantage, and nobody challenged her after that. After losing with a 224, she won games of 234, 195, 227, 225, 229, 196, 222, 215, and 219.
Dillon collected only $715, but didn't mind. "Nobody looks at the prize list in this one," she said. "This is a prestige tournament. The money is nice, but it is secondary. That's the way everybody looks at it."