Kenmore, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's bowling team was back in action at the Niagara Spring Classic on Sunday, as they battled tough competition to finish the event in 9th place. The Panthers went 1-3 in four baker matches and then defeated Penn State-Behrend in their placement match 4-3 to secure their finish.

The Panthers began their day with a matchup against D'Youville. They started strong, and trailed by just 5 pins through two matches, but could not keep pace with the Saints and ultimately fell 809-900.

Match two saw Pitt-Bradford improve their score by nearly 50 pins, but fell to Division II Daemen 972-856. The Panthers won the opening game 184-180 and then stayed in front by a pin after losing the second 185-182. After falling behind in games 3 and 4, the Panthers were able to pick up a 201-171 win in the final game, but could not make up the deficit.

Pitt-Bradford picked up their only round-robin win in match three, defeating Hilbert 869-804. They won all five individual games to secure the match victory. They took the first two games by a total of 10 pins, before breaking open a lead with a 20-pin win in game 3 and a 192-167 win in the 4th. They closed the match with a 177-169 win.

The Panthers saved their best Baker game for last, but it was not enough to keep up with Division I Merrimack. They fell behind in the opening game, losing 212-178. Over the next three games they were able to chip away at the deficit, winning game two 175-159, game three 180-172, and game four 204-198. They trimmed the lead down to three pins, but could not pull off the comeback, as Merrimack exploded for 222 pins in game five to finish the match.

After nine head-to-head matches, the Panthers were in 10th place with a total pinfall of 7,499. For their final placement match, the Panthers were matched up with Penn State-Behrend in 9th, who posted a pinfall of 7596, for a best-of-7 Baker megamatch.

The Panthers started strong, winning game one 180-167, but then were defeated 212-176 in game two to even the match. They regained control with a dominating 179-139 win in match two before being caught again in game four, falling 194-189. The Panthers went back in front with a 166-138 win in the 5th game, however, they could not put away the Lions in the 6th and fell 177-160 to set up a match-deciding 7th game. In the final game, the Panthers secured the overall match victory, winning 180-159. 

The Panthers will take the next two weeks off, before hosting Roberts Wesleyan in a home dual match on Saturday, March 15th. It will serve as a final tune-up before the post season, as they will head to the AMCC Championship tournament the following weekend.