Storylines – vs Anderson
Fifth-year coach Jonathon Barbaree has had Anderson in the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons and the two-time defending South Atlantic Conference champions are making a push down the stretch to make it five straight trips under Barbaree. Anderson is coming off its biggest win of the season, 66-50 at Tusculum Wednesday. In the victory, the Trojans limited the Pioneers to just 23.2 percent shooting while winning the battle of the boards 50-to-37.  Anderson was led by forward Britney Bailey who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win. Bailey's 11 boards tell just part of the story for the Trojans who have grabbed more rebounds (731) this season than any other team in NCAA Division II. In a pair of wins over the Cavaliers last season, the Trojans won the battle of the boards by a combined 32 rebounds. The defensive effort has boosted by 6.3 blocks per game which ranks fourth nationally. Forward Samantha Michel leads the effort in the blocked shots category as her 40 blocks rank second nationally. Anderson has also made a living at the free throw line. the Trojans rank fifth in the country in free throw attempts this season (301) while ranking 15th nationally in made foul shots (200).
About UVA Wise
UVA Wise has won 10 consecutive games for the first time in program history and heads to Anderson for its biggest game as a member of the SAC Saturday. The Cavaliers are one of three teams in the league with just one loss and tied atop the league standings at 9-1 with Carson-Newman. Most recently, the team used a 34-point third quarter to dispatch Bluefield State 86-62 in its lone non-conference game of the season. Senior Hanna Oliver made six shots from beyond the 3-point line en route to a game-high 21 points while fellow senior Kalee Johnson continues to turn in double-double performances. The forward scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in the last five games. Freshman Peyton Sams has shown vast improvement in recent games, the guard has dished out 16 assists while adding six steals combined in the club's two most recent victories. As a team, Jamie Cluesman's squad continues to lead the country in assists per game at 20.7 while ranking seventh in NCAA Division II in scoring offense at 84.5 points per game. Balanced scoring has proven to be a key to both stats as UVA Wise has five players averaging more than 11 points per game. Johnson's 16.2 points a contest leads the team and ranks third in the league.