VALDOSTA, Ga. – Halee Nieman scored 24 points and led four players in double figures as No. 18/19 UWF opened its 2017-18 season with an 80-67 win over Albany State at The Complex Friday night.
The junior transfer from Saginaw Valley State was 8-of-14 from the floor and made six-consecutive after missing her first two attempts. Nieman's 24 points are the most in a season-opener since Amy Drake had 25 in the 2009-10 opener against Mobile. She also had eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
"We were able to whether their hot hand at the start and then once we got settled in, we started to shoot the ball well," UWF Head Coach
Stephanie Lawrence Yelton said. "Hailee's an energy kid who can shoot from the outside, but the energy she brought to the floor opened things up for the rest of the team and we rode that to the win."
Senior
Courtney Meyer finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for her 15th career double-double. She also added three blocks. Senior Shami Goodman had 14 off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers, while sophomore Imani Mulmore also had 14 on 6-of-9 shooting.
UWF (1-0) shot 52 percent in the game and outrebounded the Rams 50-35. The Argos did commit 23 turnovers and allowed 15 points off those miscues.
UWF fell behind 7-0 in the opening minutes and trailed 9-6 before taking the lead on consecutive layups from freshman Danielle Norquest and senior transfer Chloe Branch. The Argonauts ended the first quarter scoring on their last six possessions for a 18-15 lead.
Nieman scored the first seven points of the second period for a 25-15 UWF advantage before going into the locker room with a 40-34 lead.
The Argos turned on the offense after halftime, opening with another 7-0 run before adding a 12-5 run later in the third that led to a 64-45 lead with 10 minutes remaining. An offensive rebounds and 3-point play by Meyer to start the final frame gave UWF its largest lead of the game at 67-45.
Albany State (0-1) shot 35 percent and got 15 points from Alexandria James.
UWF will face Fort Valley State on Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern time in Valdosta.
