Storylines – Mars Hill
First-year Head Coach Emry Tsitouris enters Wednesday's game at UVA Wise still in search of her first league win. Mars Hill has played just one of its five South Atlantic Conference games within single digits and most recently suffered and 87-50 setback at Wingate Saturday. While the Lions have just four wins, three of the victories have come on the road and the team has been among the best in the conference at getting to the charity stripe. Thus far, Mars Hill is making over 13 free throws per game to rank fifth in the league, Maddie Gillie has been the leader in the department by attempting 82 foul shots through the season's first 18 games. In its first meeting against UVA Wise, Gillie kept her team close through three quarters by pouring in a team-high 15 points behind a trio of made 3-pointers. Gillie was limited to 27 minutes of action due to foul trouble as the Lions were outscored 22-to-8 in the fourth quarter en route to a 75-55 loss to the Cavaliers in January.
About UVA Wise
Redshirt junior Nia Vanzant made history Saturday as she passed Taylor Sandidge for the program's NCAA Division II era lead in scoring. The guard netted 14 points in the loss at Anderson and now has 1,428 points for her career. Overall, Vanzant ranks eighth in scoring all-time at the college and will soon become just the seventh woman to ever eclipse 1,500 points in a career. Teammate Caitlyn Ross is nearing a milestone as well. The 5-foot-6 senior enters Wednesday's game with Mars Hill nine assists shy of tying the single-season program record of 171 currently held by Amber Carter. Already the school's all-time assist leader, Ross has dished out 580 assists in her career and ranks second in NCAA Division II at 7.4 assists per game. Vanzant and Ross will have to play well down the stretch if their team is to make the league tournament. The Cavs currently sit two games back of Lincoln Memorial for the final spot in the conference tournament. The Railsplitters will play back-to-back road games this week, including at SAC leader Carson-Newman. Meanwhile, UVA Wise and LMU are still set to play one more time this season when the Cavs travel to Harrogate, Tenn. on Feb. 22 for what is the 'Splitters regular-season finale.