Southern Illinois High School Bowling Conference rivals Collinsville and O'Fallon went through the entire 2012-13 season separated by just a few hundred pins.

On Friday, after the first two rounds of the IHSA girls state bowling tournament at Cherry Bowl in Rockford, there was no separation.

Struggling on the Cherry Bowl Lanes, O'Fallon and Collinsville averaged an identical 188.4 per player to tie for ninth place after the first day of competition.

The Panthers and Kahoks have six-game totals of 5,651 pins to trail co-leaders Lockport and Rockford Jefferson by 512 pins heading into the third round, which begins at 9:45 a.m.

The final round will start at 1:30 p.m.

After impressive performances at the Collinsville Sectional, both teams hoped to be in the hunt for a top three trophy, but the first two rounds proved to be a disappointment.

O'Fallon, getting series of 674 and 636 from junior Jordan Kasza, finished strong Friday with (five-person) team totals of 949 and 996 in its final two games to break into the top 10. Kasza is in eighth place individually with a total of 1,310 pins.

Kasza finished with an average of 218.2 and trails tournament leader Emily Malone of Rockford Jefferson by 64 pins.

Malone, who opened the tournament with a 742 series, averaged 229 for her six games and holds a 12-pin lead over Moline's Jessica Howell. The race for the individual title should be tight with the top 14 bowlers within 99 pins of each other.

Jordan Kasza wasn't the only member of her family to have a solid day. Freshman Madison Kasza averaged just under 203 and is in 35th, with a total of 1,217 pins.

A third Kasza sister, junior Lindsay Kasza, also bowled all six games and is at 1,086 for six games, while the Panthers' Jordan Schlotmann finished the first day with a 1,075 total.

It also was a tough day for Collinsville, which entered the tournament with high hopes and was thought by some as one of the teams to beat.

The Kahoks had opened their season by winning a tournament at Cherry Bowl and posted the state's third-best sectional team score last week.

But with just one team score over 1,000 (1,066) on Friday, Collinsville never found the right line.

Junior Courtney Otradovec had a 280 game on her way to a 681 series in the morning session and added a 601 series in the afternoon to finish with a 1,282 total

Otradovec is in 13th individually. The top 12 scores after 12 games earn medals and all-state recognition.

While Otradovec is in the medal hunt, touted senior Amber Burns struggled in the afternoon. Burns had a 648 series in the morning, but shot only 541 for her final three games.

Burns has a score of 1,189 pins and is in 47th. Kahoks teammate Sarah Crafton, who placed sixth in the state finals a year ago, is 66th with a score of 1,150 pins.

While Lockport and Rockford Jefferson are tied for the lead, three other teams are within striking distance. (Aurora) Waubonsie Valley is third with 6,077 pins, followed by Oswego East (6,038) and Salem (5,913).

Belleville East senior Katelyn Budnicki failed to make the final two rounds as she tied for 87th with a score of 1,093. Budnicki finished strong with a final game 226 to end her high school career with a 604 series.