ALTOONA, Pa. – Saint Francis bowling coach Tom Falbo said his team had "really strong backs" when they were placed squarely against the wall yesterday morning in the Red Flash's loss to Saint Francis Brooklyn in the team's opening match of the NEC Tournament.

On Sunday, the Red Flash went from having its backs against the wall to kicking down the door that led directly to the Northeast Conference Championship. It's the first conference title in the program's fourth year of existence.

"I felt going into that last match that the ladies were going to do what they needed to," Falbo said. "So you start to think back, back to the beginning of this program and the seniors that have been here."

The Flash had to dig itself out of a hole after losing to the Terriers yesterday morning. In the double-elimination format, there was no room for error, as the team would have to win four straight matches to claim the title.

After two wins Saturday, the Flash started in the semifinal round against third-seeded Kutztown. The winner would play St. Francis Brooklyn in the title match. The loser would go home.

After Kutztown won game one of the best-of-seven series by 10 pins, the Flash were in danger of falling in game two. But All-NEC performer Ashley Howe-Yorio (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) finished her 10th frame with a strike to give the Flash a 236-234 victory to tie the match at 1-1.

Kutztown again won game three, but the Flash held serve with six consecutive strikes to close game four to even the series again at two. After a 214-211 victory in game five, SFU eased into the championship with a 213-170 win in game six.

That three-game winning streak would swell to seven as the Flash swept the Terriers in four straight games. Howe-Yorio went spare and nine in the 10th frame of game one to boost SFU to a 197-192 win. After wins of 223-187 and 206-158, the stage was set for a championship celebration heading into game four.

As that final game went the way of the Flash, seniors Marissa Matassa (Plum, Pa./Plum Senior) and Heidi Baumert (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) were tabbed to cap the championship with 10th-frame turns. On cue, each rolled a strike.

"This team is 10 players deep," Falbo said. "I know that the names called today were some of the common names, but every member of this team is extremely important both on and off the lanes."

The Baker Frame Averages for the day were: Shelby Derr (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) 22.28, Howe-Yorio 20.6, Lauren Johnson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) 20.6, Christina Leid (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) 18.89, and Sarah Ross (Crescent, Pa./Moon Area) 18.72.

"Ashley was tremendous as anchor the entire weekend," Falbo said. "The shotmaking of Lauren and Shelby today was great to see, and Sarah and Christina each filled 90% of their frames to give us great starts and energy."

The Red Flash will find out its NCAA fate on Wednesday with the selection show that afternoon. The NCAA bowling championship features just eight teams.

"This is everything we worked for all year," Ross said. "We said from the beginning of the year we wanted to be NEC regular season and tournament champions. Now all we have to do is hope that the selection committee sees how hard we worked."