Facing a field consisting of five NCAA Division 1 and three Division 2 programs, the SVC women's bowling team finished 4th out of 12 teams in the Niagara Invitational, hosted by Niagara University in Buffalo, New York.

DAY ONE
The first day of the tournament featured five Traditional games, and the Bearcats opened play against conference foe Pitt-Bradford.  Saint Vincent fell behind by 30 pins early in the game, but battled back for an 843-804 win in what would prove to be the Bearcats' lowest team total of the afternoon.  Mareana Pilyih had the top score with a 178, followed by Abby Justice (172) and Skyy Nicholls (171).
 
In game two, SVC faced Hilbert College and again fell behind by 30 pins after the first three frames.  However, the team bounced right back, led by Pilyih, who had strikes on six of seven shots en route to a 234.  Brooke Street added a 177, while Nicholls finished with a 174 as SVC won the match, 878-697.
 
Up next was a match against D'Youville, and SVC led from start to finish, winning 981-908.  Sabine Strickland recorded her collegiate best game, 243, while Street finished with a 203 and Pilyih added a 193.
 
Game four was the Bearcats' first-ever matchup with Bryant University, and the game was close from the start.  The teams traded leads multiple times, but late-game splits cost the Bearcats the point, falling by a score of 907-889.  Strickland (201), Nicholls (198) and Pilyih (181) had the top scores.
 
Day one ended with a match against Penn State-Behrend, and SVC won by a score of 893-717.  Strickland had a 231, while Street and Pilyih each finished with 179.
 
As a team, SVC averaged 179.3 for the day.  Strickland, who competed in 4 of the days 5 games, had the top average at 207.7.  Pilyih was named to the All-Tournament team, finishing tied for fifth in total pins with 965, an average of 193 for five games.  Street averaged 183.2 in four games.
 
DAY TWO
The second day started with four matches made up of five Baker team games, with total pins deciding the winner.  The Bearcats started slowly with just a 140 in game one, but Roberts Wesleyan also struggled, shooting just 136.  After a 180-143 win in game two, the Bearcats came to life in the third game, with 7 consecutive strikes, pulling away to a 258-163 win.  SVC eventually won the point with a 923-757 tally.
 
The Bearcats then faced two nationally ranked Division 1 programs in back-to-back matches.  First was #12 Mount St Mary's University, and the Bearcats led by 14 pins after a 160-146 win in game one.  The Mount won the next three games, but all three were extremely close:  195-188, 175-172 and 192-190.  Going to the final game of the set, Saint Vincent led by two pins overall.  Saint Vincent shot a 186 in the final game, but the Mount finished with a 193, earning the 5-pin match victory by a score of 901-896.
 
The Bearcats improved in the third match to a 923 total (184.6 average) but 14th-ranked Merrimack College, the eventual tournament winner, finished with a 991.
 
In match four, SVC faced yet another Division 1 program, Mercyhurst University, and the Lakers started the match with five consecutive strikes to take a 70-pin lead after just one game (235-165).  Saint Vincent was down by 79 pins after four games, and was unable to make up the difference despite winning game five, 228-182.  The final score was Mercyhurst 934, SVC 901.
 
The final match of the day was the position round Best-of-7 Baker.  Saint Vincent had the third highest pin total for the weekend, which pitted the team against #4 Mount St Mary's.  The Bearcats weren't able to convert timely shots in the final round, managing only a 177-177 tie in game four, losing the point by a score of 4.5 to 0.5.
 
For the weekend, the Bearcats were 5-5, but with an average of 179.9 had the third highest average in the field, finishing ahead of three Division 1 programs. 
 
In Baker play, Strickland led the way for the Bearcats with a game-equivalent average of 186.9.  She was followed on the scoresheet by Kaylie Kurland (186.2), Daphne Stuber (183.5) and Street (182.9).  For the weekend, the team averaged 179.98, with a total of 8999 pins in 50 games.
 
Saint Vincent (13-7) will host the annual Br. Pat Lacey Memorial Tournament at Lincoln Lanes on Saturday, November 9, before completing the weekend with a trip to Deer Lakes Bowl in Cheswick for the Unicorn Classic, hosted by La Roche University on Sunday, November 10. 

November 9 will be Senior Day for the Bearcats.

Also over the weekend, SVC sent a split-squad team to the Muskie Mash, a US Bowling Congress tournament in Coshocton, Ohio.  The Bearcats finished sixth out of 10 teams in the event, hosted by Muskingum University.  Lexi Pilyih led the way for SVC with a 172.2 average over five games, including a high game of 208.  Cassandra Bromke (164.4) and Ryanna Collazzo (158.9) completed the top three for the Bearcats.