The NCAA Tournament runs of Northeast Conference (NEC) women's bowling teams Sacred Heart and Duquesne came to an end on Saturday morning.
Both the Dukes and Pioneers dropped 2-to-1 decisions to Stephen F. Austin and North Carolina A&T, respectively, in the elimination round of the 2023 NCAA Bowling Championship.
Eleventh-ranked Duquesne stormed back from a 3-1 deficit and took the fifth-ranked Ladyjacks to the final game of the Best-of-7 Baker match, but the Dukes were unable to pull off the comeback bid in the Pittsburgh Regional.
Duquesne, which finished as the NEC's regular season co-champ and went on to earn the program's second NCAA Championship bid in program history, finished the event 1-2 overall with a win over Stephen F. Austin on Friday, a loss to top-seeded Nebraska in Friday's afternoon session and the defeat in the rematch with the Ladyjacks on Saturday.
Shannon Small and Morgan Brookover rolled a 226 and 224, respectively, to help the Dukes jump out to an early lead they would not relinquish in the traditional round. Duquesne then jumped out to a 24-pin advantage through the first two Baker games, but saw the match take a 47-pin swing after Stephen F. Austin took the third game by a 194-147 margin. The Ladyjacks would coast to the win to force a winner-take-all Best-of-7 Baker series.
Duquesne took game one, 221-174, but dropped the next three. The Dukes then rallied for back-to-back wins to tie it up at 3-3 and forced deciding game seven, which went down to the final frames with Stephen F. Austin taking a 192-180 decision.
The Dukes conclude their season at the Intercollegiate Singles and Team Championships. Held in Las Vegas, the event begins on April 16.
Facing North Carolina A&T in the Rochester Regional, NEC Tournament champion Sacred Heart opened the day with a 1,072-952 victory in the traditional format. The Pioneers had four bowlers score over 200 in the victory senior Hannah Manetta and sophomore Nancy Kohut led the way with 235s to seal the win.
In the Quint Baker match, where the Aggies finished with a 1010-976 advantage to tie up the mega match up at 1-to-1 and force a Best-of-7 Baker match, where the winner would advance to the regional final.
North Carolina A&T was able to secure the mega match win, going 4-1.
The Pioneers bounced back from a 2-to-0 loss to Arkansas State and defeated Medaille, 2-to-0, in elimination play to advance to Saturday's contest. Sacred Heart, which closed out the season with a 60-39 mark, was making its ninth NCAA Tournament Appearance after winning the NEC Tournament title for the second time in as many seasons.