With a big comeback in the final match, the Saint Vincent women's bowling team won the  Wildcat D2/D3 Invitational Championship, beating a field of 13 teams.
 
SVC defeated Newman University 4-3 in a best-of-seven in the title round in the event, hosted by Wilmington University in Delaware.
 
SVC averaged 194.7 for the weekend. 

After opening the final day's bracket play as the #2 seed, SVC lost to Newman in the first round of best-of-7 Baker team games, by a score of 4-1.  The team then faced Emmanuel University for the opportunity to advance to the Championship match.
 
Against Emmanuel, SVC lost the first game, 200-183, but evened the match at 1-1 with a 238-208 win in game two.  The Bearcats took a 2-1 lead with a 193-160 win, but the match was even after Emmanuel won the fourth game, 203-194.  SVC won game five, 204-171, then sealed the victory with a 207-177 win in game six.
 
Facing undefeated Newman for the third time in 24 hours, the Bearcats had a chance to avenge two earlier losses.  After a split in the 10th frame put the Bearcats down 1-0, SVC battled back to tie the match 1-1 with a 178-168 win.  SVC then took advantage of a Jets miscue in the 10th frame of game three, as Mareana Pilyih threw three strikes in the 10th to lift SVC to a 192-191 win and a 2-1 lead.  Newman returned the favor in game four, winning 221-179, before winning the fifth game, 212-200 to take a 3-2 lead and put the Bearcats' backs to the wall.

The Bearcats started game six with a pair of open frames, but battled back to make the match close by the fifth frame, trailing by 9.  Strikes by Daphne Stuber, Kaylie Kurland and Sabine Strickland gave the Bearcats the lead, and the team went on to win 191-176 to keep the match alive and set up a one-game shootout for the tournament title.

In game seven, after five frames, the Bearcats had built a 19-pin lead.  Following a spare by Stuber in the sixth, Kurland, Strickland and Abby Justice threw strikes in frames 7-9, and Pilyih completed the six-strike finish as SVC pulled away to a 224-152 win and the tournament championship.
 
SVC was one of only two non-scholarship Division III teams in the field.
 
DAY ONE
The weekend started with five matches on Friday, each consisting of five Baker team games.  SVC opened the tournament against Dominican University of New York, and fell behind early.  Despite posting games of 198, 199 and 190, the Bearcats lost by a final tally of 984-915.
 
Up next was a matchup against Kutztown University, a team ranked #6 in the latest Division II-III poll, one spot ahead of the Bearcats.  SVC lost the first two games by a total of 17 pins, before posting a 244-217 win in game three that put the Bearcats in front by 10 pins.  A narrow 227-224 win in the fourth game extended the lead to 13, and the Bearcats completed the comeback with a 212-191 win in the last game, capturing the match 1020-986. 
 
The team saved its best for match #3 against Alvernia University.  After starting with a 203 in game one, the Bearcats started the third game with strikes from Abby Justice, Daphne Stuber, Sabine Strickland, Mareana Pilyih and Skyy Nicholls.  All five then repeated their shots in the next five frames, as the team had 10 consecutive strikes before a split ended the chance at 300, ending the game with a 285, the second-highest single Baker game in team history.  SVC's final three games were 194, 200 and 200, for a five-game total of 1082, the highest five-game Baker set in team history. 
 
With 13 teams in the tournament, the Bearcats had a bye in round four, shooting a team score of 986, unopposed.
 
The day ended with a hard-fought loss to Emmanuel University.  The Bearcats won the first game 248-230, then lost the second by 20 pins, 216-196.  After a 209-200 loss in game three, SVC was down by 11, and was unable to make up the difference, falling 1034-993.
 
Despite a 2-2 record, the Bearcats led all teams in scoring for the day with a team average of 199.8.  Individually, Pilyih led the team in scoring on day one with an average of 212.6, followed by Nicholls (206.7), Justice (201.2), Kaylie Kurland (198.9), and Strickland (193.7). Stuber and Brooke Street rounded out the top-7, tied at 187.9.
 
DAY TWO
Saint Vincent started the second day with a Traditional game matchup against Adelphi University.  Three Bearcats topped the 200 mark, led by Kurland's 236, as SVC won by a score of 975-744.  Nicholls added a 210, while Pilyih finished at 201.
 
In game two, the Bearcats fell behind Caldwell University early, trailing by 70 pins after just four frames.  SVC finished strong, but lost by 42 pins, 976-934.  Strickland (210), Pilyih (200) and Nicholls (198) has the top scores.
 
SVC led from start to finish in game three, topping St Thomas Aquinas by a score of 957-531.  Justice led the way with a 236, while Nicholls added a 202.
 
The Bearcats then squared off against Felician University, and nearly led the match from wire to wire.  A strong 10th frame by Felician lifted them to a 965-963 win over the Bearcats.  Pilyih had a 234, while Street finished with a 199 and Justice shot a 188 game.
 
Going into the final match of the day, SVC held a 60-pin lead over second place Newman University in total pins for the weekend.  The Bearcats managed to post their highest game of the day, with a 1001 team total, but Newman recorded the highest five-game total by any team for the tournament, shooting 1126 to secure the win and push past the Bearcats into first place.  For SVC, Strickland (244), Nicholls (222) and Justice (190) had the top scores.
 
Pilyih finished 10th among individuals for the day, with a five-game total of 1000 (200 per game).  Nicholls finished 11th with a 999 (199.8) and Strickland was 18th (195.4).  Justice averaged 204.6 in three games.  
 
SVC will be off for the next two weekends but will return for the post-season, starting with the Intercollegiate Team Championships the weekend of March 8-9.