GAFFNEY, S.C. - - Limestone built a 14-point third quarter lead and held off a UVA Wise rally to score a 75-68 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory at the Timken Center Wednesday.

Limestone (3-0, 1-0 SAC) received a game-high 19 points from Quin Byrd as the Saints won their home opener for the third consecutive season.

UVA Wise (0-3, 0-1 SAC) struggled defensively from the start. Limestone made 8-of-15 field goal attempts in the opening quarter to take an 18-14 lead after ten minutes of play.

Fouling also proved problematic for the Cavaliers throughout the contest. UVA Wise was whistled for 24 fouls, which led to 23 free throw attempts for the Saints.

Limestone built its first double-digit lead of the game with an 8-0 scoring spurt in the second quarter. Byrd started the run with a jumper before Reagan Kargo drilled a pair of 3-pointers to give her team a 31-21 lead at the 4:49 mark of the period.

From there, UVA Wise would go on a run to get the game back within four points as Kalee Johnson, Katlin Burger and Meg Crawford each scored. The Cavs would eventually get the lead down to three on a bucket by Johnson to make it a 34-31 game with 55 seconds to play in the half.

The Saints would score the final six points of the half as Destiny Jackson would be fouled on a 3-point attempt where she converted all three foul shots. Moments later, Byrd would make a 3-pointer to send Limestone to intermission with a 40-31 advantage.

The Saints lead would balloon to 14 with 7:33 to play in the third quarter after a 7-0 run by the hosts that featured five more points from Byrd.

UVA Wise would spend the rest of the evening trying to catch up. Nia Vanzant would score four of the next six points by the visitors. The two schools would then trade runs over the remainder of the quarter; a spurt by Limestone pushed the lead to 12 before the Cavs would get back within eight heading to the fourth quarter.

Jamie Cluesman's team would spend the fourth quarter trying to get the game to a one-possession affair. A Caitlyn Ross basket made it a 58-53 game with 6:16 to play only to see Byrd answer with a bucket. Moments later, Mackenzie King cut the deficit back to five only to see Vonshayla Webb counter to run it back to seven points.

A 3-pointer by Jamyi Golden got the visitors within five again at 64-59 with 2:10 remaining. Limestone would then miss four consecutive foul shots but, UVA Wise would be unable to capitalize on the offensive end.

The Saints would score the next four points to put the game out of reach before eventually securing the seven-point triumph.

UVA Wise finished the contest 1-for-14 from the 3-point line while Limestone connected on 7-of-24 shots from distance. Despite the poor shooting from beyond the arc, the Cavs finished the game shooting at a 48.4 percent clip compared to the 43.8 shooting performance from the Saints.

In addition to Byrd, McCay (17) and Kargo (15) scored in double-figures for the victors. Byrd added five assists to her game-high 19 points while Kargo corralled seven rebounds.

Johnson turned in her second double-double of the season in the loss. The redshirt senior scored a team-high 16 points while leading all players in the game with 13 rebounds. Vanzant (11), Golden (11) and Ross (10) also netted double-figure scoring.

Next up, Cluesman's crew visits Anderson Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip. The game will conclude a four-game road trip to start the season for UVA Wise.