WISE - - Senior defender Erin Smith spearheaded a solid defensive effort while fellow senior Jesse French led the offensive charge as UVA Wise scored its first ever women's lacrosse victory over Lenoir-Rhyne, 15-6, at Smith Stadium Wednesday.

Smith matched a career-high with seven groundballs for UVA Wise (6-5, 6-3 SAC) while French became the first player in program history to reach 275 career points with a three-goal, five-assist performance in the win.

The loss will force Lenoir-Rhyne (4-6, 3-4 SAC) to go on the road in the opening round of the league tournament. The Bears will either travel to Wingate or back to UVA Wise for the opening round tournament game.

The Cavaliers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back in the contest. French assisted on two of the game's first three goals while scoring the other as Meghan Dennehy's squad took control of the game in the opening five minutes.

Jolan Morey would score unassisted to get the visitors within two at the 23:24 mark of the first half only to see UVA Wise rattle off three consecutive goals to go in front 6-1.

Consecutive goals from Carley Camp and Michelle Tang would get the Bears within three at 6-3 with just over 10 minutes to play in the opening half, but it would be as close as the team would get.

UVA Wise forced 31 turnovers in the win with Sydney Trask and Abby Willis tallying three caused turnovers each as Lenoir-Rhyne collected just 10 shots on goal in the contest.

Smith added a pair of caused turnovers to her stat line with French also adding two caused turnovers and three groundballs in her performance.

In addition to French, Katie Allen and Ellie Earnshaw each finished with a trick as each woman finished with three goals each. Allen tacked on two assists for a five-point day; overall, UVA Wise assisted on 9-of-15 goals.

Next up, the Cavs will host Coker for the regular season finale and Senior Day Saturday. First draw is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.