RENO — Pam Pancoast of Lomita, Calif., saved her best for last at the 2012 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships as she rolled a 300 in her final game to take the lead in Scratch Singles and Scratch All-Events at the National Bowling Stadium on Friday.

After starting the tournament with a 730 series in team and 710 in doubles, she rolled games of 213 and 266 in singles before becoming the 18th competitor in USBC Women’s Championships history to achieve perfection on the tournament lanes. She finished with a 779 series, just one pin ahead of previous leader Tammy Lewis of San Jose, Calif.

Pancoast, a 50-year-old right-hander, struck on 27 of her last 28 shots, and her 2,219 all-events score is the third-highest in 93 years of Women’s Championships competition. Megan Kelly of Dayton, Ohio, previously held the lead this year with 2,168, while Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, holds the record of 2,330, posted on the way to Scratch and Diamond All-Events titles at the 2010 event in El Paso, Texas.

“Any 300 is exciting, but it’s fun to do it here,” said Pancoast, who made her 11th Women’s Championships appearance. “I just tried to keep the ball in line and remember to follow through and watch my timing. It would be a big deal to come out here and win.”

Caryn Evitts of Waukegan, Ill., also rolled a perfect game at the Women’s Championships on Friday (the 17th in history), and the effort helped her and Melanie DeCarlo of Peru, Ill., tie for the highest doubles game in tournament history (558). Evitts finished with a 723 series, while DeCarlo added 673 for a 1,396 total.

USBC Hall of Famer Linda Kelly and Mandy Wilson of Dayton, Ohio, combined for a 558 doubles game on the way to the 1996 Classic Doubles title.

Megan Kelly of Dayton, Ohio, got off to a strong start at the 2012 USBC Women’s Championships with a 299 game during her team event. Her success continued in doubles as she teamed with Team USA member Shannon Pluhowsky to move into the Scratch Doubles lead on Thursday.

Kelly shot 770, and Pluhowsky added 694 to help the pair to a 1,464 total. Christina Kinney of Las Vegas and Erin Lenahan of Meadow Vista, Calif., took the lead earlier in the day with 1,403.

In the Scratch Team event, Cathy Dorin-Lizzi rolled a 719 series to help Together Once Again of Keller, Texas, into the top spot with games of 1,163, 1,060 and 1,074 for a 3,297 total. Time of Our Life II of Saddle Brook, N.J., previously held the lead with 3,282.

Dorin-Lizzi was joined by her USBC Hall-of-Fame sister Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (718), Brenda Padilla (661), Marcia Kloempken (606) and Team USA member Tammy Turner (593).

Together Once Again collected Classic Team titles at the Women’s Championships in 2006 and 2009.

The members of Hawaiian Punch, from Hana Hou of Kapolei, Hawaii, traveled more than 2,500 miles to compete at the USBC Women’s Championships, and they left their mark on the tournament leaderboards.

Hawaiian Punch posted a 3,546 handicap score to move into the top spot in Diamond Team. Kimie Roller led the way with a 642 series and was followed by Shauna Kamaka (625), Jolene Walker-Akau (582), Darlee Horiuchi (578) and Tammy Nitta (555). Some Strike It Hot of Albuquerque, N.M., previously held the lead with 3,462.

Shawna Lane of Tucson, Ariz., also moved up the standings, taking the lead in Diamond Singles with an 830 handicap total.

For more information on the Women’s Championships, visit www.bowl.com/womenschamp.