STORYLINES – THE TUSCULUM GAME

Tusculum will be playing its first game since Dec. 7 when the Pioneers host UVA Wise Saturday. One of the most experienced teams in the nation, fifth-year coach Devan Carter's team has a pair of graduate students to go with three seniors and six juniors on this year's roster. The experience has paid off as the top eight leading scorers for Tusculum are either juniors, seniors or graduate students, led by senior guard Mia Long's 13.8 points a night. Long is the returning South Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Year after leading the nation in steals at 3.96 per game as a junior. Fellow guard Sydney Wilson is the team's second leading scorer at 12.1 points per game as the duo have combined to score more than 1,400 points during their Tusculum careers. A key to Wednesday's game will likely be the 3-point line. The Pioneers have attempted 231 shots from beyond the arc this season, connecting on 30.3 percent of the attempts.

ABOUT UVA WISE

UVA Wise will try to match its best start to the season (7-3) since joining NCAA Division II with a win over Tusculum. Freshman Caitlyn Ross is the South Atlantic Conference's reigning Player of the Week. The point guard netted a season-high 25 points while grabbing a season-high seven rebounds in the team's 79-75 win over Newberry College. The guard leads the league and ranks sixth nationally in assists per game at 6.3 while being tied for the league lead and ranking 13th nationally in steals per game at 3.4 a night. Teammate Cynita Webb leads the league and ranks 19th nationally in field goal percentage at 61.3 percent. The senior forward has recorded six double-doubles this season and is posting 17 points and 11.4 rebounds a night. As a team, the Cavaliers lead the conference and rank 12th nationally in field goal percentage at 47.8 percent while ranking third in the SAC and 22nd nationally in scoring offense at 80.3 points per contest. Wednesday's game with Tusculum will pit two of the top steal leaders in the country. In addition to UVA Wise's Ross, Tusculum's Mia Long has 31 steals this season. The guard is tied with Ross for the league's steals per game lead. This is the first meeting between the Cavs and Pioneers in women's basketball since 2016 when UVA Wise scored a 63-58 win in Greeneville, Tenn. behind 20 points from Makenzie Cluesman.  The game is the final league game of 2019 for the Cavs who wrap up play before the holiday season Saturday in a non-conference tilt at King University.