Final Bracket | Video Highlights

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. – The 13th-ranked Kutztown University women's bowling team had its quest for a Northeast Conference (NEC) championship come to an end Sunday morning as it fell to 10th-ranked St. Francis University of Pennsylvania, 4-2, in a best-of-seven matchup in a semifinal match.
 
Kutztown (76-41) dropped the first game to the Red Storm (66-35), 179-153, but responded with a victory in game two. KU took the lead after the third frame and held it throughout. Junior Brooke Bower (Camp Hill, PA/Cedar Cliff) gave KU come clutch strikes in the final frames, as Khrystyna Liske (Delta, PA/Kennard Dale) closed out the game for Kutztown in its 203-197 win.
 
An open eighth frame in a close third game was a setback for the Golden Bears. Junior Deanna DiRado (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem) started the ninth frame with a strike which brought the final decision down to the 10th frame. Bower knocked down nine on her first throw and picked up a spare in the tenth. She closed out the tenth with nine pins, but Saint Francis won 169-158 to take a 2-1 lead.
 
St. Francis controlled the end of game four. It held a 20-pin lead entering the 10th frame and took a commanding 3-1 lead in the match with a 189-168 win.
 
Kutztown had the best team game of any team in the tournament with a 259 in game five. KU notched 11-of-13 possible strikes and hoped to use it as a momentum builder.
 
DiRado picked up a strike in the fourth frame of game five for Kutztown and Bower followed up with a strike in the fifth. St. Francis left numerous frames open in the middle of the game to help build KU's lead. Lauren Stamm (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) picked up a spare in the sixth, giving KU a 55-pin lead entering St. Francis' half of the sixth frame. Rebecca Velazquez (Mohegan Lake, NY/Lakeland) and DiRado each bowled strikes in the seventh and eighth, respectively, and Bower opened the tenth with a strike. Liske closed out the win with a strike to give KU a 259-182 win.
 
St. Francis held a 19-pin lead through the first three frames of game six. KU started the sixth game with two open frames. DiRado picked up KU's first strike of the game in the fourth. KU had three nine's in the sixth game, leaving one pin in three separate frames. Stamm picked up a spare in the sixth, and Velazquez cut the St. Francis lead with a strike in the seventh, but was followed by a strike by the Red Storm.
 
DiRado picked up a spare in the ninth as KU entered the tenth trailing by 12 pins. Bower started the tenth with a spare, but St. Francis answered with a spare of its own to seal the match victory.
 
The Golden Bears now await their fate by the coaches, who will vote on the eight teams selected to the NCAA Championships. The selection show for the championships in Detroit, Michigan on April 10-13 will be on Wednesday on NCAA.com. KU has already qualified for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Team and Individual Championships on April 16-20.