Storylines – WINGATE
Tied for third in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Regional Poll, Ann Hancock brings her Wingate Bulldogs to Wise on a six-game winning streak. Wingate has won five of the six games in the current streak by at least 10 points and recently scored an 87-50 win over Mars Hill. The best shooting team in the South Atlantic Conference, the Bulldogs are making 44.8 percent of their field goal attempts while connecting on 36.5 percent of their 3-point efforts. One of the most experienced teams in the conference, Wingate has a combined eight seniors or graduate students on this year's roster. One of those seniors is 6-foot-2 Bryanna Troutman who leads the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game and rebounding at 7.4 per contest. Troutman has been a thorn in UVA Wise's side throughout her career; last season she scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 28 minutes of work in Wise before scoring 13 points and grabbing nine boards in only 13 minutes of play when the two met in Wingate. Fellow senior Hannah Clark has had success against the Cavs as well. In an 84-53 Bulldog win against the Cavs last year, Clark erupted for 25 points.
About UVA WISE
UVA Wise dropped its sixth consecutive game Wednesday in a 54-47 defeat to Tusculum. A common theme repeated itself in the loss as the Cavaliers struggled to score in the second half. Jamie Cluesman's team made just 6-of-27 field goals over the final 20 minutes while being outscored 25-19 over the stretch. In the loss, senior Caitlyn Ross became the sixth woman in SAC history to eclipse 600 assists as part of a 12-point, eight-assist outing. Nia Vanzant continued her consistent scoring efforts with 15 points while Katlin Burger came off the bench to toss in 11 against the Pioneers. Freshman Anna Whited made her second straight start as she logged a career-high 34 minutes. Turnovers plagued a big role as UVA Wise finished with more turnovers (20) than made field goals (17) in the contest.  In what has been a challenging schedule for the Cavs, Saturday's game will be no different. The contest with the Bulldogs will be the seventh for the team against a team that is ranked in the most recent D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll. UVA Wise does have a win over a ranked foe, scoring a road win over Belmont Abbey earlier this season.