STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – The SCAD women's bowling team picked up its third-consecutive NAIA National Championship Title on Saturday, defeating the University of Pikeville 4-1 in the Championship match.
 
TOURNAMENT FORMAT: The three-day tournament consisted of 24 baker matches to determine seeding heading into double-elimination match play.
 
DAY ONE: The Bees earned the number one seed, finishing the baker games with a total pinfall of 5,043. SCAD earned a bye in the first round of match play.
 
DAY TWO: No. 1 SCAD started day two with a match against No. 8 Concordia, winning handily 4-1 to advance.
 
In round four, the Bees faced No. 4 William Penn and won 4-2 to continue in the winner's bracket.
 
Round five saw SCAD facing the No. 2 University of Pikeville for the first time, with the Bees coming out on top 4-3 to advance to the Championship final.
 
FINAL DAY: The Bees had to wait to see who they would be playing in the Championship final as the University of Pikeville faced No. 3 St. Francis in round seven, where they won 4-2 to advance to the final.
 
SCAD won the first game 203-169 and then dropped the second match by one pin to tie it at one-all.
 
In the third game, the Bees opened with three strikes and then six consecutive spares to earn the 198-135 victory.
 
Totaling two more strikes than UPIKE, SCAD won the fourth game and followed with a dominating 223-181 fifth game to clinch the title.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Lara Kurt and Addy Nelson were named to the NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team, with Nelson being named the Tournament MVP.
 
NAIA ALL-AMERICANS: Prior to the start of the 2024 NAIA National Championship, the list of All-Americans was released, and SCAD totaled three:
 
Lara Kurt (First Team)
Addy Nelson (Second Team)
Yumi Yuzuriha (Second Team)
 
DAKTRONICS NAIA SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: The NAIA released the 2024 Daktronics NAIA Women's Bowling Scholar Athletes prior to the start of the National Championships, and the Bees totaled four honorees:
 
Grace Bringham
Raina Davis
Lara Kurt
Yumi Yuzuriha
 
The 2024 list sports 155 student-athletes from 49 schools who achieved at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) at their institution. To be nominated by an institution's head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport, and have attended one full year at said institution.
 
WHAT'S NEXT? The Bees will compete at the Intercollegiate Team Championships on April 17-20.