WISE - - No. 17 Anderson University scored its 24th consecutive South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory Saturday over UVA Wise but it was not easy. The Trojans outscored the Cavaliers 21-to-11 in the fourth quarter and withstood a pair of missed shots by the hosts in the final minute to claim the 64-62 victory.

UVA Wise (4-2, 1-1 SAC) would have two shots to either tie or win the game in the final minute. The Cavaliers had the ball trailing 63-62 with 45 seconds to play when Kalee Johnson saw her 3-point attempt rim out.

Following Anderson's (6-1, 2-0 SAC) Alexy Mollenhaur splitting a pair of free throws, UVA Wise once again had the ball with a chance to force overtime or win.

Cavs' coach Jamie Cluesman called timeout and drew up a play for freshman Caitlyn Ross. Ross' shot inside the arc would hit the backboard then the rim before falling off preserving the win for the Trojans.

UVA Wise nearly pulled off the upset by controlling Mollenhaur, the reigning conference and regional player of the year. Senior Cynita Webb guarded the All-American for the bulk of the contest and held her to three points on 0-of-8 shooting from the field. Mollenhaur would make 3-of-5 foul shots to finish with a season-low point total.

The Cavs started with a flurry making 57.1 percent of their shots in the opening quarter en route to a 19-12 lead after the first 10 minutes. Ross scored seven of her 13 points in the period while Webb netted six of her 10 points in the quarter.

The nationally ranked Trojans came off the deck in the second quarter with a strong defensive and rebounding effort. UVA Wise was limited to 3-of-12 shooting while Anderson forced four turnovers and out rebounded the Cavs 15-to-5 in the stanza. Anderson would tally 16 points in the quarter while holding UVA Wise to seven to send the game to intermission with the guests holding a two-point advantage at 28-26.

As was the case to start the game, the Cavs came out on fire to start the third quarter. Sophomore Mackenzie King would be a big reason why, the Harlan, Ky. product netted 14 of her team-high 16 points in the quarter as she made a trio of 3-pointers allowing UVA to close the period on a 20-to-8 run.

Trailing 51-43 after three quarters, the defending league champions did not go quietly into the night. Anderson would fall behind by 11 after an Ada Stanley 3-pointer at the 9:03 mark. From there, the Trojans closed the contest on a 21-8 run.

Taylor Hair scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the final quarter as the post player delivered what proved to be the decisive basket when she scored with 1:01 to play off a Makayla Green pass to put her squad in front for good at 63-62.

Anderson dominated the glass in the victory by winning the battle of the boards 48-to-34.

Next up, the Cavs will play a non-conference game against Bluefield State Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. inside the Prior Center.