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MURRAY, Ky. – Bailie Roberts tallied 17 points in her final game and led the Southeast Missouri women's basketball team to a 61-58 victory at Murray State on Saturday.

Southeast finishes the season 11-18 and 5-11 in Ohio Valley play. This is the first time the Redhawks have won their regular-season finale since the 2007-08 season.

Courtney Shiffer's jumper on the opening possession got Southeast off on the right foot. Jordan Hunter followed with a three just over two minutes later, giving the Redhawks an early 5-0 advantage.

A Mariah Robinson three-point play pulled MSU within two points, but Southeast countered with a 6-0 run to go up 11-3 just over four minutes into the contest. Bailie Roberts and Patricia Mack each contributed three points in that spurt, with Roberts making a jumper and a free throw while Mack hit her first three since Nov. 26 against Texas-Pan American.

With Southeast leading 13-6, MSU scored six-straight points to pull within one point. Undeterred, the Redhawks went up 24-12 on the strength of an 11-0 run. Brittany Harriel's three began the surge at the 12:19 mark. Kara Wright and Roberts scored in transition following stops before Hunter drove to the hoop for a basket to put Southeast ahead by 10 points. A low post score by Mack capped the run and gave Southeast a 12-point cushion midway through the opening stanza.

MSU cut the deficit to seven points after a Keiona Kirby three and a Kelsey Dirks jumper at the 6:45 mark. Mack countered with a jumper of her own to bump Southeast's lead back to 26-17. After trading baskets to keep the lead at nine, MSU went on a 6-0 run to pull to within 28-25 with three and a half minutes left.

Hunter's free throw with three minutes left made it a two-possession game, but was the final Southeast point in the opening half. MSU scored six points in the final minute and a half to grab a 31-29 lead at the break, closing the half on a 12-1 run. The Racers outscored the Redhawks 19-5 in the final 9:23 of the opening frame after trailing 24-12.

Kyra Watson's layup on MSU's opening second-half possession made it a four-point (33-29) Racer lead. Southeast responded with an 8-0 run with the first six points coming from Wright on two jumpers and two free throws. Roberts' layup capped the run and made it a 37-33 game in favor of Southeast.

Layups by Robinson and Watson tied the game at 37 apiece before Mack scored through contact and made a free throw to put the Redhawks back up 40-37. The Racers turned to Robinson, who made a layup and two free throws to give MSU a 41-40 lead with 16:32 to play.

In another turn of events, Southeast scored eight-straight points to go up 48-41 at the 12:14 mark. Roberts hit a jumper to put the Redhawks back ahead and Harriel connected over a minute later to bump the lead to three. After another minute, Olivia Hackmann's jumper was true before Harriel's free throws capped the run with 12:14 showing on the clock.

Robinson's three trimmed the Redhawks' lead to 48-44, but a Wright jumper and Hunter three put them up 53-44 midway through the final period. MSU countered with four-straight points to cut the deficit to five points with 8:18 remaining, at which point Roberts put Southeast on her back.

The Maryville, Tenn., native hit a three-pointer to balloon Southeast's lead to six with eight minutes to go, but MSU answered with a free throw and a layup to pull back within five. Two more Roberts free throws brought the lead back to seven before MSU scored another three in a row.

Roberts split a pair of free throws with 5:14 remaining and Robinson hit two freebies with 3:09 left to bring the Racers to within 59-56. The Redhawks perfectly executed an inbounds play that left Roberts wide open for a layup to make it 61-56 with 2:25 showing. Robinson followed with a jumper at the 1:57 mark to cut the deficit down to 61-58.

From there, the Redhawks dug in defensively. Southeast got consecutive stops to hold the three-point lead into the final minute. The Redhawks committed a shot clock violation with 26 seconds remaining and MSU used a timeout to draw up a play to tie the game. Keiona Kirby had a look for three in the corner, but her shot was off the mark and corralled by the Redhawks.

Southeast missed the front end of its one-and-one, giving MSU one final chance to tie the game. Robinson brought the ball up the floor but Hunter bothered her shot enough to force it off the mark and give Southeast its first season sweep of Murray State since the 2006-07 season.

Southeast shot 44.2 percent from the field and held MSU to 34.4 percent shooting overall. The Redhawks hit 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) of their threes while the Racers went 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from long range. Southeast hit 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) free throws while MSU hit 11-of-16 (68.8 percent).

“We've had some real good defensive performances this season, but not many for 40 solid minutes,” Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. “Tonight we played great defense for 40 minutes. We have long guards and they did a great job bothering shots. The reason we were successful there was because we communicated defensively. The team trusted each other and that was great to see.”

The Redhawks enjoyed a 42-33 advantage on the glass though the Racers forced them to commit 18 turnovers while committing only nine themselves.

Roberts scored 17 points in her final collegiate game, finishing with 981 career points, and grabbed eight rebounds. She scored Southeast's final eight points to help deliver a win. Wright and Mack each chipped in 10 points with Mack leading all players with nine rebounds.

“Bailie played like a senior tonight, which was great to see,” Margenthaler said. “When she is playing like she did today, she gives us a chance to win. The seniors wanted this win to go out on top. They are leaving this program in better shape than it was coming in. I couldn't be happier for all of them. Our last stretch has been tough, but the character of this team is unbelievable. It would've been easy to check out with this last game on the road, but they stepped up.

Southeast's 11 victories and five OVC wins are its most since the 2008-09 season.