WISE - - Tusculum made five free throws in the final 40 seconds of Wednesday's game to claim a 69-63 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory over UVA Wise inside the Prior Center.
Tusculum (16-5, 11-4 SAC) led from the second quarter on but, the victory was in doubt late in the contest.
UVA Wise (10-11, 6-9 SAC) cut the lead to three at 64-61 with 42 seconds to play on a layup by junior Ada Stanley. The Pioneers would turn the ball over on the following possession but, the Cavaliers would be unable to capitalize as the host missed a pair of free throws.
From there, Tusculum would make enough foul shots down the stretch to secure the win.
Turnovers played a big part in the game, UVA Wise committed 31 turnovers in the game which led to 26 points for Tusculum.
The Pioneers were led by guard Mia Long who netted a team-high 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting while Maddie Sutton led all players with 10 rebounds and finished two points shy of a double-double in the victory.
Freshman Nia Vanzant scored a game-high 23 points for UVA Wise as she made two 3-point field goals. Junior Hanna Oliver scored nine points on a trio of 3-pointers while Ada Stanley finished 5-of-7 from the field to chip in 12 points in her second career start.
Kalee Johnson was a third Cav to finish in double figures as she made back-to-back 3-pointers in the game as part of a 10-point outing.
UVA Wise shot the ball well, making 50 percent of its field goal attempts overall and 38.9 percent of its 3-point attempts. Tusculum enjoyed a slight edge on the glass, winning the battle of the boards 36-to-33.
Tusculum's depth was pivotal in the win, the Pioneers played 10 players with all playing at least 14 minutes while UVA Wise had just seven players see action with Oliver and Vanzant playing all 40 minutes.
Next up, the Cavs will travel to Newberrry, S.C. Saturday to take on the Wolves. UVA Wise won the first meeting in Wise and will be looking for a season-series sweep. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and the game can be heard on FM 92.5 WLSD or online at wlsdradio.com
