WISE - - Taylor Sandidge scored 20 points and UVa-Wise made eight of 17 3-point attempts as the Cavaliers delivered Tusculum their first loss of the season, 74-66 at the Prior Center Saturday.

UVa-Wise (3-1) built a 21 point lead late in the third quarter as Coach Kristin Kunzman's team outscored Tusculum 20-9 in the period.

Tusculum (3-1) would get the game as close as six points on two occasions in the fourth quarter but, UVa-Wise would make 12 free throws in the stanza to close out the contest.

The Pioneers got off to a fast start as Shynese Whitener scored nine of her game-high 26 points in the quarter. Tusculum led by as many as seven points in the period before UVa-Wise found its stroke from the 3-point line.

Back-to-back 3-point buckets by Blair Harding and Makenzie Cluesman cut the Tusculum lead to 15-14 with just over a minute to play in the quarter. The quarter ended with each team swapping made free throws to give the Pioneers a 16-15 lead heading to the second stanza.

Kehana Grayer gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the game when she scored inside off a Cluesman pass. The lead would change hands three times in the period before UVa-Wise would go on a 15-0 run to take a 34-20 with 3:03 to play in the half.

Tusculum responded with a 6-2 spurt to close the half to cut the deficit to 10 at 36-26 at intermission.

The Cavs dominated the paint in the second period, scoring 14 of their 21 points in the quarter down low while out-rebounding the Pioneers 11-5.

UVa-Wise would not trail for the remainder of the contest as a pair of foul shots by Cluesman gave her team a 21-point lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

The Pioneers made a push in the fourth quarter but their 31-point period was not enough as Sandidge scored 10 of her points in the period.

Kayla Carey and Harding added 14 points while Cluesman chipped in 10 off the bench.  As a team, UVa-Wise made 22 of 30 free throws in the victory. Alle Moore scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds to join Harding for game-high rebounding honors.

Sydney Wilson, 15 and Jasmine Queen, 13 joined Whitener in double figure scoring for Tusculum. The Pioneers entered the game holding the opposition under 30 percent shooting; the Cavs shot 45.8 percent from the field Saturday, including a 47.1 percent performance from distance.

The Cavs will return to league play on Thursday when the team welcomes West Virginia Wesleyan to the Prior Center for a 5:30 pm tip.