CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – The 20th-ranked Lincoln Memorial University women's bowling team maintained its position among the top 10 following the second day of the Columbia 300 Saints Invite at the Bowlero Lanes in Chesterfield, Missouri. The Lady Railsplitters (37-37) split four traditional team matches Saturday, topping Upper Iowa University (1,030-788) to start the day and ending afternoon with a 931-846 win over 12th-ranked Central Missouri.
 
LMU sits in ninth place following two full days of competition with a pinfall total of 9,461, picking up 974 pins in a bye match and adding 4,818 pins total Saturday.
 
Tournament host and 15th-ranked Maryville University bested the Lady Railsplitters in the third match of the day by a count of 1,049-965, while first-place and top-ranked McKendree University took match four over LMU, 1,045-918.
 
Fellow East Coast Conference member Tusculum University trails the Lady Railsplitters by 385 pins in the team standings with a pinfall total of 9,076. LMU and the Pioneers will face off in Sunday's opening round of best 4-of-7 Baker match bracket play, slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. EST.
 
Jacksonville, Florida, senior Marisol Dodson had the Lady Railsplitters' top game of the day, rolling a 245 in the opening match against Upper Iowa. She also had a 202 in the tilt with No. 15 Maryville University and finished 14th among 120 total bowlers with a pinfall total of 1,008 in the five traditional team matches, averaging a 201.6 game score. Sayreville, New Jersey, senior Mary-Kate Kersting also placed with the top 15 in the individual standings, finishing 12th with a total pin count of 1,017 and a five-game average of 203.4. Kersting strung together four 200-plus games with a high of 222 in LMU's bye match, a 211 against Upper Iowa, a 202 versus 15th-ranked Maryville University and a 203 against top-ranked McKendree.
 
In addition, chipping in beg games were Parkersburg, West Virginia, junior Justine Brookover with a 202 in the bye match and freshman Jada Bassette with a 214 in the final match of the day against No. 12 Central Missouri. Brookover placed 26th in the individual standings with 963 total pins and a game average of 192.6, while junior Tyra Sanchez was 44th with an 890 pinfall total and 178.0 game average across the five traditional team matches.
 
Top-ranked McKendree has the team lead after two days with a pinfall total of 10,309 and a 206.2 game average in match play. Fourth-ranked Arkansas Sate is second (9,872), third-ranked Nebraska third (9,808), No. 18 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater fourth (9,782) and second-ranked Sam Houston State fifth (9,751). Host Maryville University, 12th-ranked Central Missouri, No. 11 Louisiana Tech, LMU and Tusculum round out the top 10 heading into Sunday morning's best 4-of-7 bracket play Baker matches.
 
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