PITTSBURGH – After a weekend off, the Penn State Altoona women's bowling team returned to the lanes on Saturday to compete in the annual Unicorn Invitational, with the 2024 edition of the event hosted by La Roche University at Perry Park Lanes.

Competing in five-game baker matches decided by total pinfall against five other Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference teams, Penn State Altoona added one win and four losses to its record. The Lions defeated host La Roche in the opening match before suffering defeats at the hands of Pitt-Greensburg, Penn State Behrend, Pitt-Bradford, and No. 9 Saint Vincent College.

The Lions started Saturday's event with a 771-670 victory over La Roche. Penn State Altoona posted a scoring advantage over the Redhawks in each of the match's five games, outscoring La Roche 144-127, 154-110, 146-137, 171-143, and 156-153.

Penn State Altoona took its first loss of the day in its next match, when the Lions fell 850-741 to Pitt-Greensburg. The Lions started the match by edging the Bobcats 151-143 in the opening game, but Pitt-Greensburg went on to record pinfall advantages over the Lions in the next four games by scores of 200-166, 177-145, 159-114, and 171-165.

The Lions took their tightest loss of the event in their next match, when they were defeated 761-725 by Penn State Behrend. Behrend started the match with a 165-160 pinfall advantage over the Lions in the first game, but Penn State Altoona outscored their opponent 141-136 and 149-139 in the next two games. Behrend eked out a 128-127 advantage in the fourth game, then outscored the Lions 193-148 in the fifth game to win the match by 36 pins.

Penn State Altoona lost 807-760 in its next game, a matchup with Pitt-Bradford. The Lions dropped more pins than the Panthers in the first and third games by respective scores of 152-133 and 145-133. But Pitt-Bradford outscored Penn State Altoona in the second, fourth, and fifth games by scores of 156-140, 176-157, and 209-166.

Penn State Altoona finished its day with a match against nationally-ranked St. Vincent, which entered the day as the No. 9 team in NCAA women's bowling. The Bearcats outscored the Lions in each of the five games by tallies of 187-151, 231-151, 201-144, 224-147, and 148-107 to win the match 991-700.

Kaitlyn Search (Allentown, NJ/New Egypt) and Chloe Mazza (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) each bowled a team-high 50 frames on the day for the Lions. Search led the team with a 17.4 baker average, and Mazza posted a 15.18 baker average. Kennedie Lauver (New Berlin, PA/Mifflinburg) rolled 48 frames and had her team's second-best baker average at 16.25.

Next up, the Penn State Altoona women's bowling team will wrap up its 2023-24 schedule with its first home match of the season, as the Lions will host an event at the F.A. Gerhart Lanes in Altoona on Saturday, March 16 at 10 a.m. The day will also represent Penn State Altoona's Senior Day.