First-year coach Meagan Price can lead her Tusculum Pioneers to a conference title with a win at UVA Wise Wednesday. Tusculum enters the game 1/2 game better than Carson-Newman in the league standings, thus allowing the Pioneers to control their own destiny. Graduate student Maddie Sutton has been seemingly an unstoppable force for Price's squad on the interior. The 6-foot forward is averaging 15.6 points and 15.2 rebounds per game. This season, Sutton has tallied the most double-doubles in the country this season with 15. Sutton was key in Tusculum's 79-68 win over UVA Wise in November. That night, she scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Pioneers won the battle of the boards 53-to-34. The most experienced team in the league, Tusculum has three seniors averaging 10 or more points, in addition to the team-high 15.6 points tossed in by the graduate student Sutton each contest. Of the eight Pioneers that play at least 16 minutes per game all are at least a junior or older.

While Tusculum will be playing for a regular season league title, UVA Wise will have plenty to play for as well. Jamie Cluesman's crew can earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament with a win and a Catawba loss to Wingate. Most recently, senior Ada Stanley was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field as she netted a season-high 16 points in her team's 81-68 road win at Mars Hill Monday. Additionally, sophomore guard Caitlyn Ross stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds, seven assists and a steal. Senior Hanna Oliver drilled a quartet of 3-pointers in the game as well. The Woodbridge, Va. native enters the game with Tusculum having made 197 career 3-pointers, the second most of any player to play at UVA Wise during the NCAA Division II era of the program. When the two schools met earlier this season it was Ross and junior forward Meg Crawford that caused issues for Tusculum. Ross fired in 20 points while Crawford scored 16 points, blocked three shots and racked up two steals in just 14 minutes of play. Poor foul shooting proved to be large in the loss, UVA Wise made just 12-of-23 free throw attempts in the game. On the season, the Cavs are shooting 77.2 percent from the charity stripe. If UVA Wise does not earn a bye in the league tournament, the team will likely host Queens University of Charlotte Saturday in the opening round of the league tournament. A bye would allow UVA Wise to move directly to the quarterfinal round where the team would also play at home.