FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – Southern University wrapped up three days of competition at the Bearcat Invitational with a 14th-place finish in a strong field that featured seven teams ranked in the NTCA Top 25.

The Jaguars totaled 11,252 pins across 67 games for a 167.9 team average, delivering several encouraging performances against one of the toughest tournament lineups on their fall schedule.
 
Southern opened the weekend on Friday with five Baker matches, highlighted by an 860 effort against Western Illinois to start the day. The Jaguars continued to battle through matchups with No. 21 Valparaiso and No. 15 McKendree, showing steady improvements in their closing sets against Newman and Marian.
 
The team found its rhythm on Saturday in traditional play, earning a 909–885 win over Marian behind strong scoring from freshman Maria Molina Diaz and senior Darian Mobley. The Jaguars narrowly fell to No. 24 Oklahoma Christian, 895–889, before facing Central Missouri and Jackson State in two competitive matchups.
 
Southern closed the day with one of its most impressive wins of the season, a 913–896 victory over No. 11 Sacred Heart, marking a key result against a nationally recognized opponent.
 
Freshman standout Molina Diaz led the Jaguars with a breakout performance, finishing eighth overall among more than 120 bowlers. She posted a five-game total of 1,013 pins for a 202.6 average, including games of 218, 213, and 203.
 
Mobley added an 885 series (177.0 avg.) with a high game of 203, while Mikayla Stephens contributed 807 pins (161.4 avg.). Za'Viara Williams added 682 pins across four games, followed by Angel Stein with a 649 series and Alanna Jones, who closed her appearance with a 190 game.
 
Southern entered Sunday's bracket round as the No. 14 seed and delivered its highest Baker game of the weekend with a 214 against Western Illinois before defeating Alabama A&M in the final match to secure 14th place overall.
 
Up Next
Southern closes out the fall portion of the schedule with a trip down I-10 for the Colonial Lane Classic hosted by Tulane at Colonial Lanes in Harahan.


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