PENSACOLA, Fla. – The UWF women's basketball team used a suffocating defense in the third quarter to create some separation from Delta State before taking a 54-50 victory at the UWF Field House.
 
The win marked the 100th at UWF for sixth-year head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton. The Argonauts have averaged 21 victories over the previous four seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the school's first-ever Elite Eight last March. She is the third coach in program history to get 100 wins and the fastest to do so, reaching the mark in 162 games.
 
But on Tuesday, UWF led by just five at halftime before locking down on the defensive end. The Argos scored the first four points of the third quarter and extended their lead to 40-27 with 10 minutes to play. DSU missed its first six shots and was just 2-for-12 in the quarter.
 
The Lady Statesmen managed to pull within eight twice in the fourth before getting to within three in the final seconds.
 
Halee Nieman finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds to help lead the UWF attack. Imani Mulmore added 12 off the bench, while Belle Bistrow and Shami Goodman finished with seven apiece.
 
UWF (10-4, 5-2 Gulf South) shot just 36 percent but held DSU to 31 percent. The win was the seventh-consecutive over the Lady Statesmen for the Argos.
 
Delta State (5-9, 3-5) got 17 points with three 3-pointers from Alondrea Rush and 12 from Takisha Jordan. The Lady Statesmen scored the first basket of the game for its only lead of the night. Goodman answered with a layup and 3-pointer on the next two UWF possessions to give the Argonauts a lead they never relinquished.
 
UWF will return to action with a road trip to Tennessee this weekend, beginning Saturday at league-leader and No. 8 ranked Union (14-1, 7-0). Tip-off in Jackson, Tenn. is set for 2:00 p.m.