VALLEY PARK, Mo. – Maryville women's bowling tallied a fourth-place finish in the Columbia 300 Saints Invite behind an 8-5 record this weekend. The bowlers recorded 13,185 total pins with an average per game of 193.9.
 
Maryville began the tournament Friday with five baker format games to help determine tournament seeding. The first match was against Kentucky Wesleyan where the squad dropped their first match (836-871). The Saints then lost their next match to Newman University (868-949) but rebounded with three victories against UAB (970-872), Lincoln Memorial University (1,091-858), and Oklahoma Christian University (1,114-1,010).
 
On day two of traditional match play, Maryville took on Louisiana Tech University, falling 957-976. The team wrapped up Saturday with a 5-0 record featuring wins against Lewis University (978-885), University of Central Missouri (967-918), Wright State University (1,121-1,109), McKendree University (890-888), and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (930-829).
 
The Saints rolled off against Louisiana Tech to begin Sunday's bracket baker games. In six games, the women fell 2-4 with a high game of 248. In the second round of the tournament, Maryville lost in six games to Newman University to take fourth overall.  
 
Four Saints finished in the top 30 in individual standings with Natalie Heltne striking sixth place. Heltne tallied an average of 208.33 over six games with a total pinfall of 1,250. Behind Heltne was Anna Maxwell who gathered a total pinfall of 1,164 and a six-game average of 194.0. Brianna Schmidt posted a total of 1,152 total pins with a 192.0 average per game, while the final bowlers in the top 30 were Laura Bartelt who finished with 1,122 total pins. 
 
Coming up next is the Flyer Classic hosted by Lewis University in Lockport, Ill. Baker play is set to begin Friday, Feb. 9.