TOWSON, Md. -- Newly ranked No. 25 Kutztown women's bowling knew it would have to bring its best at this weekend's Morgan State-hosted James Brown Invitational at AMF Towson Lanes, with a loaded field featuring seven of the National Tenpin Coaches Association's (NTCA) Top 25 teams descending upon the greater Baltimore area.

The Golden Bears performed well in their first tournament as a ranked team since 2019, with only a 28-pin variance between their high and low matches to post a 3-2 record during Baker format play, Friday.

Kutztown drew 14th-ranked Delaware State in their opener, but the Hornets got off to a fast start with a 204 in game one and a match-high 246 in game three to defeat the Bears 1007-887. Lindsey Gotwalt (Hanover, Md./Meade), Megan Hanaway (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township), Jordan Dean (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor), Eleni Feggulis (South River, N.J./South River) and Chloe Sromovski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial) rolled a 191 to match DSU in game two and won games four and five by 202-183 and 194-183 scores.

The same crew kept the good scores coming in round two against Coppin State. An opening 222 set the tone for three straight favorable games. The Maroon and Gold took game two 188-162 and game three by nearly 40 pins, 196-159. Coppin State regained more than 50 pins over the final two games, but it wasn't enough as KU held on 906-888.

Kutztown put up an 898 against Fayetteville State in cruising to its second straight victory of the day. The Bears went up by more than 100 pins on the strength of a 191 game two and 212 game three and closed out the 898-804 win with a 177-169 decision in the fifth game.

Ally Sipe (York, Pa./Central York) joined the Bears' lineup for a match against East Coast Conference rival Chestnut Hill, and once again games two and three proved to be the turning point. After falling 178-170 in game one, KU bounced back with a 180-127 triumph in the second and a convincing 214-167 win in the third. The eventual result was an 878-792 victory, the third in a row for Angela Reynolds' group.

Unfortunately, the Bears had to finish against the buzzsaw that is sixth-ranked North Carolina A&T. Dean returned to the lineup and despite a 204 in the final game, Kutztown could not overcome four consecutive 200+ games from the Aggies (236, 234, 225, 216) to close out the match in falling 1080-887.

Kutztown (30-19), which sits in eighth place with 4,456 pins (178.2 average), will resume play at 10 a.m. Saturday with five traditional matches. On the slate for the Bears tomorrow are a pair of ranked opponents in No. 11 Duquesne and No. 10 Mount St. Mary's.