STERLING – While Autumn Day was unleashing pocket-seeking missiles, Michaela Bates was throwing darts Tuesday evening at Paone's Blackhawk Lanes.

As for the Sterling girls, they were scratching their heads as the Dixon Duchesses put an exclamation point on a sweep of their Route 2 rivals in the teams' season-opening bowling match.

Dixon won the first two games of the Northern Illinois Big 12 tussle by just two pins (1,002-1,000), then 16 (1,015-999). But in Game 3, Day struck on her last six throws while Bates refused to leave a frame open en route to a 210 finale after opening with games of 146 and 151.