HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J.—The Sacred Heart University women's bowling team entered the Northeast Conference Championships as the fourth seed with a play-in match and ended the day with a spot in the winner's bracket. The Pioneers took down Saint Francis 2-0 to open the conference championships and moved on to face the top seed, Fairleigh Dickinson, in the first round of the championship bracket. The defending champs never let up and defeated the Knights 2-1 to advance to the winners' bracket.

SHU took a 1-0 lead in traditional play to open the play-in vs SFU. The Pioneers knocked down 1118 pins compared to SFU's 1099 to hold the advantage. In a five-game baker match, the Pioneers dominated the Red Flash, 1141-990, to take a 2-0 victory and advance to the championship bracket.

The Pioneers were set to take on the regular season champions, FDU, to kick off the first round of the championship bracket. The Knights opened the competition with a 1011-986 victory in traditional play to take a 1-0 lead over SHU. The Pioneers did not let up. The teams moved to a five-game baker format. After five games, Sacred Heart had the advantage in pinfalls 955-916 to tie it up 1-1 and force a best-of-seven match.

In a thrilling best-of-seven baker match, the Pioneers showed their heart and came out on top. SHU jumped ahead to take the first lead, but each team would trade wins until it all came down to the wire. With the match tied 3-3, the teams went to game seven, where the winner would advance to the next round in the winners bracket. That's exactly what the Pioneers did. SHU knocked down 197 pins, while FDU hit 183, giving Sacred Heart the 4-3 win in the best-of-seven match and 2-1 final against FDU. 

The Pioneers advance to the winner's bracket to take on #2 Duquesne on Saturday, March 25th at 9:00 AM.