WISE – – UVA Wise keeps winning. Jamie Cluesman‘s club withstood a game Lenoir-Rhyne club inside the Prior Center Wednesday night to claim a fifth straight victory, 70-63 over the Bears. Sophomore Caitlyn Ross scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the second half while redshirt junior Meg Crawford played bigger than her 6-foot-3 frame with 15 points and a season-high 15 boards to pace the Cavaliers.
Lenoir-Rhyne (1-5, 1-5 SAC) took a three-point lead with 2:20 to play in the third quarter on an inside bucket by Oliva Nunn. It would be the last time the visitors scored to take the lead or extend a lead in the contest.
UVA Wise (5-1, 5-1 SAC) closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 54-50 lead to the final 10 minutes of play. In the final period, the Cavs used a pair of 3-pointers by reigning South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week Nia Vanzant to put the game out of reach.
Vanzant’s final long-range shot came with 3:32 to play when she drained a triple off a Kalee Johnson pass to make it a 68-61 affair.
The two shots from distance were part of a trio of 3-pointers made by the guard who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds on a night that saw her eclipse 500 career points in just her 34th collegiate game.