PENSACOLA, Fla. – Faithe Franklin turned in a Senior Night to remember, posting 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals as UWF defeated Valdosta State, 70-66, at the UWF Field House Thursday.
 
UWF ended the season on a high note, scoring 70 points for the fourth time and going 3-1 in those contests. It also extended the winning streak over the Lady Blazers in Pensacola to seven.
 
From singing the national anthem with her mother before the game, Franklin made it known this was going to be her night. The Pensacola native did a little bit of everything in the opening 20 minutes before holding off VSU time and time again, registering nine points and seven boards after half time.
 
Rachel McCree had a team-high 18 points as she made three of UWF's seven 3-pointers. Danielle Norquest had nine points and 19 rebounds, narrowly missing the school-record for double-doubles in a season. She ended the year tied with Toni Brewer at 21.
 
"We got points, rebounds and productivity from a lot of players which helped us all game," UWF head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton said. "It was a fun game and our fans appreciated the energy our players brought."
 
UWF finished the season 8-20 overall and 4-16 in Gulf South Conference play.
 
UWF used a 5-0 run for a 9-4 lead midway through the first before grabbing a 16-12 lead at the quarter break. The Argos hit three 3-pointers as they built a 25-18 lead with 5:00 to play in the half. The Lady Blazers made some transition baskets and got to the free throw line to pull within one before the Argos held a 31-29 edge at the half.
 
After VSU tied it, UWF went on an 8-0 run for a 39-31 lead. The Lady Blazers fought back and pulled to within two with a 5-0 run. But UWF used a 5-1 stretch over the final 2:57 for a 50-44 lead heading into the last period.
 
VSU tied it at 55 before Ashaunti Brown got low for a layup to put UWF back ahead with 6:20 left. Nari Garner countered as she hit the third of her five triples to put the Lady Blazers up for the first time since it was 2-0.
 
The Argos answered right away. Franklin came up huge in the final minute when VSU was trying to foul to get UWF to the foul line, but she made a move and got a layup to extend the lead to 66-60.
 
VSU (17-10, 9-10) shot 34 percent and was 14-of-29 at the free throw line. Cheray Saunders had a game-high 19 points. Franklin spent much of the game on defense guarding the Lady Blazers' leading scorer, Kayla Bonilla, who entered averaging 17.8 points per game. Bonilla finished with a season-low one point on 0-for-10 shooting.
 
"We prepared really well and our kids were engaged on their personnel all week," Yelton said. "Faith did a great job on Kayla Bonilla and we forced them into some hard shots."