Women's bowling earned the No. 6 seed after 24 baker games of qualifying on Thursday and went the distance in two best-of-seven matches but came up short of getting a victory at the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.

On what proved to be a difficult oil pattern, the Lady Lions grinded through the first three sets with only one game over 200. After posting 681 to open qualifying, they followed with 753 and 702 for a 12-game total of 2136 (178 average). Despite a lower average than the regular season, Lindenwood was 11^th at that point among the final 16 teams vying for a national title, and less than 100 pins from fifth position in a tightly packed field.

Lindenwood found its stride in the second 12 games of qualifying with five games in the 200's and only two games below 172. With sets of 771, 776, and 777 and high games of 221, 218, and 215, the Lady Lions had the third best second half block with 2324 (193,67 average). After flirting with fifth place, Lindenwood finished qualifying in sixth place with a grand total of 4460 (185.83 average) to earn the No. 6 seed.

After a brief break and re-oil, best-of-seven baker match play began with the Lady Lions facing No. 11 seed Tulane in the opening round. After a tentative start and a 187-160 loss in the first game, Lindenwood rebounded for a 209-184 win to knot the match at 1-1. It was close game three with the lead in the hands of the Green Wave late, but the Lady Lions had a chance to double in the final frame to steal a victory, only to be stung by a solid 8-pin leave on the first ball of the 10^th, resulting in a 188-173 loss. Game four was close until the final two frames when Tulane pulled away for a 200-170 win.  

With the Green Wave only one victory away from taking the match, the Lady Lions fought back. A key double in the ninth and 10^th frames led to a 178-170 win in game five and another double and solid spare shooting led to a game close game six victory 189-181. With one game remaining to settle the match, both sides started steadily with Lindenwood taking a slim lead, but a pocket 7-10 split in the fourth derailed that momentum. The Lady Lions spared in frames five through nine to set up a possible 10^th frame rally, but a great shot left a seven-pin a dashed those hopes in a 186-173 loss, giving the match to Tulane 4-3.
 

By losing in the opening round, Lindenwood completed play for the first day and returned for a survivor match against No. 3 seed Mount Mercy early Friday morning. The Mustangs had been surprised by No. 14 seed McKendree, a team that ultimately advanced to the championship final.

Neither team found any rhythm as the first game unfolded, but the Lady Lions did build a lead through the first eight frames, until a super washout made things super close. It came down to the 10^th frame with MMU leading by one. Both teams spared to start the final frame, but the Mustangs had an eight-count on the fill ball, giving Lindenwood a chance to strike for a win in game one. This time, a great shot resulted in a solid four pin for the Lady Lions and a 162-162 tie.

Game two proved to be higher scoring but close once again. As the final frames unfolded, the Mustangs had a slim lead that forced Lindenwood to strike on the first ball in the 10^th. After that didn't happen, it looked like Mount Mercy would take the game, but an errant shot and a three-count on the fill ball from the Mustangs left game two tied at 182. With the first two points split, the match was 1-1.

Game three was sidetracked by some spare shooting mishaps and MMU was able to pull away for a 224-170 victory and for the first time, someone had a lead in the match. But the Lady Lions once again fought back. With neither team pulling away through the first eight frames, Lindenwood finished with four strikes in a row to take game four 198-177 and even things up again at 2-2. As the Lady Lions switched back to the right lane for game five, it became apparent that it was the tougher of the two. With only one strike and three opens that included a split, Lindenwood never threatened and fell 188-146.

With a must-win scenario in game six, the Lady Lions returned to the left lane and found some success again, but the margin was razor thin. With a strike in the

ninth frame, a strike on the first ball in the 10^th would claim the win for Lindenwood, but a good shot left a four-pin. After the Mustangs finished their final frame, the Lady Lions were then faced with a must-strike situation to tie. Anything less was a loss of the game and the match. After careful contemplation and an adjustment, Lindenwood did strike to create that tie at 191, the third tie of the match, something very possibly not ever seen at the ITC.

The Lady Lions flipped back to the troublesome right lane. They needed to figure it out, but the lane had other ideas. After three splits and two washouts through the first seven frames, the writing was on the wall. Mount Mercy wasn't spectacular, but they did enough in a 180-146 win to take the match and end the season for Lindenwood.

After qualifying in sixth place to earn the No. 6 seed, the Lady Lions went 0-2 in match play to finish in the 13^th through 16^th position at the ITC for the second season in a row. Lindenwood entered the event as the seventh ranked team in the country according to the final National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) poll of the 2025-26 season, which was released just before the national championship tournament began.

The women's ITC roster included seniors Hailey Bozych, Carissa Merkle, and Liz Rittenour; juniors Maddie Millsaps and Isabelle Fletcher; sophomore Sadie Bettendorf; and freshmen Amber Bozych and Emilee Mullranin, with assistance from freshmen Josie Bruck.