Pittsburgh, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's bowling team began the AMCC Championship Tournament with a mega-match against 6-seeded Pitt-Greensburg. The Panthers won the traditional match but needed to go all the way to a tiebreaking roll-off in the best-of-seven Baker match to defeat the Bobcats and advance in the tournament.
In the traditional matchup, the Panthers easily defeated the Bobcats, using a strong effort from Mackenzie Gill to win 866-771. Gill made a big splash in her first postseason appearance for the Panthers, posting a score of 214 in the opening match. Brookelyn Garvey finished at 173, while Jaylee Koppenhaver was just two pins behind her at 171. Emma Pablic rolled a 159 and Erin Wales rounded out the scoring at 149.
The match then moved into baker format, with game two decided by total pinfall over 5 games. The Panthers took an early lead in the match, and went back ahead in the 4th, but could not hold off Pitt-Greensburg in the final game, losing 733-757. Pitt-Bradford won the first 169-141, but then lost the next two 134-170 and 135-149 to trail by 22 pins. The Panthers went ahead by 4 with a 159-133 win in the fourth game, but could not keep up the momentum in the 5th, falling 136-164.
With each team winning in the first two formats, the match moved into a tiebreaking Baker game with the winner decided in a best-of-seven game format. The Panthers won the first game 191-140 and then tied game two 158-158. Pitt-Bradford extended their led to 3 by winning the next two 172-158 and 149-130. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not close out the Bobcats, who stepped up and won the next three games 157-142, 156-145, and 136-125. Through seven games the teams were tied at 3 and 1/2 games, leading to a 5-frame rolloff. The Panthers stepped up and secured victory in the roll-off, winning 91-74 to advance to the next round.
The Panthers survive the upset bid and advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. They will play one more mega-match today, as they will take on #2 William Smith at approximately 2:30.
