WISE - - UVA Wise built a 16-point third quarter lead and held off a late Tusculum challenge to score its second consecutive victory, 69-62 over the Pioneers in women's basketball action at the Prior Center Saturday.

Nia Vanzant netted a game-high 22 points for UVA Wise (2-4, 2-2 SAC) and it was evident early the junior was going to have a big game. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. product connected on all three of her field goal attempts in the first ten minutes en route to nine first quarter points.

Vanzant's fast start aided her team to a 19-18 lead over Tusculum (1-5, 0-4 SAC) after the first period as the Cavaliers converted 7-of-10 free throw attempts in the early going. The strong free throw shooting proved to be a trend as UVA Wise made 18-of-25 charity shots in the victory compared to a 7-of-9 showing by the Pioneers.

The Cavs would push the lead to five at intermission thanks to a strong showing from Caitlyn Ross. The point guard netted six of her nine points in the period as the hosts forced seven quarter turnovers and turned the extra chances into six points.

In the third quarter, UVA Wise essentially put the game out of reach. Jamie Cluesman's team pushed its lead to as many as 16 points on multiple occasions in the period. A Meg Crawford foul shot made the score 53-37 at the 2:02 mark of the quarter before Kalee Johnson's jumper sent the game to the fourth quarter with the Cavs out front 57-41.

The bucket was a precursor for the fourth quarter as the redshirt senior drained two pivotal jumpers over the final 80 seconds to seal the deal. Johnson's basket with 31 tickets to play made the game 65-61 to put the game on ice.

Johnson's strong play down the stretch was part of a 19-point, 5-rebound outing. The redshirt-senior added a career-high five steals.

Crawford posted another big defensive game on the interior with four blocks while adding seven points and three boards.

Tusculum received a team-high 13 points from Jailia Arnwine, Deidre Cheremond chipped in 11 while Jordan Rogers registered 12 points to round out a trio of Pioneers in double-figure scoring.

The win is the second consecutive by UVA Wise over Tusculum as the team also downed the Pioneers in the regular season finale a year ago.

UVA Wise will shoot for its third consecutive victory Wednesday when Newberry visits the Prior Center in a 5:30 p.m. tip.