WISE - - Behind 25 points from freshman Nia Vanzant and 22 points from redshirt junior Kalee Johnson, UVA Wise kept its South Atlantic Conference Tournament hopes alive with a 72-58 win over Wingate at the Prior Center Saturday.
UVA Wise (12-14, 8-12 SAC) built a 48-32 halftime lead behind one of its best offensive first halves of the season. The Cavaliers made 16-of-28 field goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
Johnson did the bulk of her damage in the early going. The Elizabethton, Tenn. product scored 12 points in the opening 10 minutes as she finished a point shy of her career-high in the contest.
Johnson's fast start put Wingate (15-12, 9-11 SAC) in a 27-15 hole after the opening quarter, Nia Vanzant erupted in the second quarter as she netted 11 of her game-high 25 points in the quarter to give the Cavaliers the 16-point halftime lead.
The Bulldogs limited the hosts to just six 3rd quarter points as Jamie Cluesman's squad failed to make a field goal in the frame. The strong defensive quarter would go for naught as Wingate would be held to just 26 second half points as UVA Wise gained a season-series split.
Caitlyn Ross was a third Cav in double figures as the freshman guard finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Vanzant added three rebounds and five steals to her stat line while Ada Stanley grabbed 10 rebounds and missed a double-double by a point.
The Bulldogs were limited to 28.9 percent shooting in the loss, including a 10-for-38 showing in the final 20 minutes.
Wingate owned the glass, winning the battle of the boards 52-to-37 but only scored 11 second chance points off of 26 offensive rebounds.
UVA Wise finished with 15 assists against just 12 turnovers while making nine 3-pointers in the game. Johnson made 4-of-5 3-point attempts and Vanzant connected on 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc.
Teliyah Jeter scored a team-high 16 points while leading all players with 16 rebounds in the loss. Wingate also received 11 points from Taylor Blakely off the bench.
With the win, UVA Wise moves into a tie with Lenoir-Rhyne for the eighth and final SAC Tournament spot with two games to play. The Cavs finish the season with a home contest against Carson-Newman Wednesday before closing the regular year at Coker Saturday. The Bears wrap up their season with home games against Mars Hill and Catawba.
If the two teams finish the year tied, Lenoir-Rhyne owns the tiebreaker by virtue of winning both head-to-head meetings.
UVA Wise's game with Carson-Newman Wednesday is slated for a 5:30 p.m. tip from the Prior Center.
