Wheaton, Ill. – The Maryville University women's bowling team advanced to the final day of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association Women's Bowling Championships after finishing 3-1 Friday at the Fox Bowl in Wheaton, Ill.
 
The third seeded Saints opened the championship with an impressive 4-0 win over No. 6 Lincoln in the opening round. Maryville fell behind in the early frames to the Blue Tigers but battled back in the final three stanzas to win the game 145-136. The Saints then seized control of the match and won the next three games by an average 35 pins to advance to the second round.
 
In the winner's bracket semifinal, the Saints got out to a fast start by winning the first game of the match against No. 2 Central Missouri, 207-202. The Jennies grabbed control by winning the next two games to take a 2-1 lead, but Maryville tied the match at 2-2 with a 220-177 win in game four. Central Missouri closed out the match with a 202-155 win on the fifth game and a 210-192 victory in the sixth contest to force the Saints into the loser's bracket.
 
In the most exciting match of the first day, Maryville and No. 4 Drury hooked up in an instant classic in which the Saints battled back from a 3-2 deficit to move on with a 4-3 win. Maryville won the first game of the match 194-147, but saw the Panthers win the next two games to take a 2-1 lead. The Saints knotted up the match in the fourth game with a 206-162 win, but Drury regained the lead in the fifth game with a narrow 169-167 win. Maryville caught fire in the last two games as the Saints threw 19 strikes in 24 frames en route to back-to-back wins and move on in the championship.
 
Maryville continued to roll the ball well in a re-match with Lincoln. The Saints threw their third straight clean game to defeat the Blue Tigers, 203-158 in the first contest of the match. Lincoln held the lead mid-way through the second game, but Maryville fought back to earn a 198-186 win and take a 2-0 lead. The Saints closed out the match with a pair of convincing wins to once again shut out Lincoln 4-0. The win earned Maryville another shot at Central Missouri Saturday morning.
 
The Saints and Jennies will kick off the action at 9 a.m. with the winner advancing to the championship match against the top seeded McKendree Bearcats at 10:30 a.m.
 
Fans can follow all of the action of the final day of the championships at www.themiaanetwork.com as the final matches will be streamed live.