MONTEVALLO, Ala.– The 19th-ranked UWF women's basketball team overcame a sluggish start on offense and erased a 9-point deficit to Montevallo for a 62-53 win at Trustmark Arena to close the regular-season on a 13-game winning streak.
 
UWF (23-4, 17-3 Gulf South) will be off for nine days before opening GSC Tournament play at home on Tuesday, Mar. 5 at the UWF Field House. The Argonauts have clinched the second seed and will face the loser of Thursday's Alabama Huntsville-West Georgia game at 6:00 p.m.
 
On Saturday, the UWF offense had a hard time getting going, shooting just 31 percent in the first half while falling behind 28-20 at the break. The Argo defense meanwhile had held the Falcons to 38 percent to stay within striking distance.
 
UWF came out in the second half and used a 13-0 scoring run midway through the third to grab a 33-29 lead. After UM tied the game at 35, UWF extended the margin to seven by the end of the period and 47-37 with six minutes remaining.
 
Halee Nieman led the team with 19 points, while Toni Brewer scored all 14 of her points in the second half to go along with 10 rebounds for her 19th double-double of the season.
 
D'Asia Collins came off the bench to finish with nine points, including 5-of-6 clutch free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Argonauts in front.
 
Anna Hall added six points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals in 40 minutes of play.
 
The Argos shot 40 percent for the game and 50 percent in the second half. They were 16-of-19 at the free throw line.
 
UM (12-15, 8-11) got 17 points and eight rebounds from Aaliyah Rice.
 
UWF is the only GSC school finished with their 20-game conference slate. The remaining 12 teams will play on Thursday before the top eight teams open tourney play on March  5. The semifinals will be on Saturday, Mar. 9 in Bimringham, Ala.