WISE - - Points were at a premium Wednesday as UVA Wise outlasted Emory & Henry 59-54 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action inside the Prior Center.

UVA Wise (13-6, 4-4 SAC) overcame 26.8 percent shooting to claim a win over its Southwest Virginia rival in what was the first meeting between the two programs since 1984.

Emory & Henry (6-10, 3-5 SAC) struggled offensively as well. The Wasps connected on just 34.6 percent of their shot attempts while turning the ball over 24 times.

The turnovers proved critical as the Cavaliers scored 24 points off of the giveaways. Nia Vanzant spearheaded the defensive effort as the redshirt junior tallied a career-high seven steals.

Defensive was never more important than in the fourth quarter. UVA Wise entered the final stanza with a 36-34 advantage and used its defense to cross the finish line.

Emory & Henry would commit nine turnovers in the final period as Vanzant recorded three steals in the stretch.

The Wasps' Brylee Jones scored a fast break layup to make it a 51-50 Cavs' lead with 2:50 to play.

After a Leah Kestner bucket pushed the lead back to three, Emory & Henry would turn the ball over two of its next three possessions allowing the hosts to regain a two-score lead.

The Wasps would get the deficit back to two at 55-53 with 1:02 to play when Breanna Yarber sank a pair of foul shots.

After an empty Cavalier possession, the guests appeared to be on the cusp of tying the game. Jones would be fouled and go to the line to shoot a pair. The guard would make the first shot and had evidently tied the game with a second successful free throw; however, the shot would be waved off as Jones was called for a lane violation.

Caitlyn Ross would connect on consecutive free throws for UVA Wise on its next possession before Jones' missed 3-pointer gave the Cavs the ball with a 57-54 lead and just 19 seconds remaining.

After a UVA Wise timeout, Jones would foul Ross, sending the senior back to the line but, possibly more importantly fouling Jones out of the game.

Ross would make two more foul shots extending the lead to five at 59-54 and with Jones and her 21 points on the bench, the Wasps would be unable to score providing the winning margin.

Vanzant tied Jones for game-high scoring honors with 21 while Ross added 12 and Katlin Burger chipped in 11 for the winners.

Grace Glance came off the bench to score 11 points to join Jones as the only Wasps in double figures.

Emory & Henry won the battle of the boards 52-to-47 but were outscored 19-to-5 at the charity stripe.

With the win, UVA Wise has now won five of its last six games and improved to 4-4 in league play. The 4-4 SAC record puts the Cavs in a three-way tie for third place in the Mountain Division.

Next up, the Cavs travel to South Carolina to face Limestone Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.