WISE - - No. 23 Wingate University raced out to an 18-2 lead over host UVA Wise in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action at the Prior Center Saturday. The nationally ranked Bulldogs ended up holding on for a 76-74 triumph in the league opener for both schools.

Wingate (4-2, 1-0 SAC) got off to a strong start behind the play of Hannah Clark. The guard was a perfect 3-for-3 in the opening 10 minutes as she netted nine of her game-high 27 points in the period. Clark capped the game-opening 18-to-2 spurt with a jumper at the 4:15 mark before UVA Wise (1-2, 0-1 SAC) started battling back.

Jamie Cluesman's club closed the quarter on a 15-to-2 run as fifth-year point guard Caitlyn Ross scored nine points in the run to get her club to the second stanza down three at 20-17.

The lead would swell to double figures twice in the second quarter, the last coming on a 3-pointer by Clark before the Cavaliers again fought back.

Freshman Sarah Burton would score nine points as part of a 14-to-4 run to get her team tied at 34 going to intermission.

The third quarter would be played within a five point window with Wingate holding the largest lead at 46-41 on a Lia Anderson bucket with 6:05 to play in the period. A triple by Ross gave UVA Wise a a 51-49 lead with just over four minutes to play in the quarter before the guard beat the quarter buzzer to tie the game at 57 going to the fourth period.

Wingate seemingly put the game out of reach with its run to start the final period. An Anna Baraldi 3-pointer with 6:37 to play gave the guests a 68-59 advantage. Again, UVA Wise answered back. This time with a 12-to-4 run culminating in a pair of Katlin Burger foul shots with 1:11 remaining, leaving the score 72-71.

After Wingate's Emily Hege sank two charity shots, Burton made a layup off one of Ross' team-high eight assists to make it a 74-73 game with just six seconds left. Hege would split a pair of foul shots with four seconds left to leave it a two-point game.

On the following play, Burton would get fouled with less than second left. The freshman would split the foul shots, making it a 75-74 game. After Clark made one of two free throws, Wingate left victorious 76-74.

UVA Wise made 10 triples in the game as Ross and Burton each netted 23 points. The 23 points allowed Ross to move to 14th in school history in scoring with 1,310 points while Burton registered a new career-high.

Clark made her first nine shots for Wingate en route to her game-best 27 points. Hege tallied 26 in the win as the Bulldogs made 50 percent of their 3-point attempts (9-for-18).

Next up, Cluesman's team will face Bluefield State in a non-conference affair Monday. Tip-off from the Prior Center is slated for 5:30 p.m.