ROME, Ga. – On a night where the rims seemed as frigid as the 27-degree Georgia air, UWF turned to its defense for a hard-fought 60-54 road win over Shorter at the Winthrop-King Centre Tuesday.

UWF (8-3, 3-1 Gulf South) shot just 36.4 percent – it's second lowest this season – but got a great showing at the free throw line, finishing 16-of-20. The Argos made their final nine freebies and 16-of-17.

On the other end of the floor, it started by holding Shorter without a point for the first 8:14 and just 1-of-10 in the opening quarter. UWF led 11-4 after the first frame and 23-18 at the half.

"We knew we were going to have to control the ball and defend (Shorter's) athleticism, while keeping them off the offensive glass," UWF head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton said. "We just didn't score as easily as we had been in recent games."

Halee Nieman led the Argonauts with 14 points and 12 rebounds, making all nine of her attempts from the charity stripe. Belle Bistrow had 11 points and Imani Mulmore finished with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a number of hustle plays that either kept Shorter from scoring or allowed the Argos to score.

The biggest of those came at the end of the third quarter after Shorter had cut the UWF lead to 42-39 with a 5-0 run. Mulmore got a loose ball at midcourt and outraced a Shorter defender to the basket for a 3-point play to end the quarter leading 45-39.

"Imani made some big plays at key points in the game and that one at the end of the third was one of the biggest," Yelton said. "That was huge in stopping their run and getting the momentum back on our side of the court."

That spurred a 10-0 run, giving UWF some breathing room in the final period. The margin never got below four as the Argos won their fourth-consecutive game at Shorter.

Shorter (2-9, 0-5) was led by BreAnna Thompson's 16 points and nine rebounds. The Hawks shot 34 percent and were just 4-of-20 from outside.

UWF held a 47-34 edge on the glass and limited Shorter to just nine offensive boards.

UWF will have a tough challenge facing it on Thursday when it heads north to Cleveland, Tenn. for a contest against Lee (10-3, 3-2). Tip-off at Paul Dana Walker Arena is set for 5:00 p.m. Central Time.