Seniors will play final home game for Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team

Most college basketball players experience considerable team success in high school.

That holds true for the seniors on the Southeast Missouri State women's squad who have found wins hard to come by with the Redhawks -- but they emphasize they have no regrets as their college playing days near the end.

Forward Brittany Harriel, guard Bailie Roberts and forward Courtney Shiffer will have their final home game today when the Redhawks (10-17, 4-10 Ohio Valley Conference) face Tennessee Tech (15-11, 9-4) at 6:30 p.m.

That trio, along with guard Katie Norman, whose Southeast career ended before the season because of lingering back problems, will be honored before the Senior Day contest.

All but Shiffer came to Southeast straight from high school. Shiffer has played for the Redhawks three seasons after spending one year in junior college.

"I tell them all the time, they've gone through a lot with the coaching change. It wasn't an easy situation. I appreciate and respect how they handled everything, how they treated us with open arms," said second-year Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler, who did not recruit any of the four. "They're leaving the program in better hands than when they came here. They've already done things that haven't been done in a while. They should be proud of that.

"They're all great, great students with 3.4 or higher [grade-point averages]. They've all had good basketball careers, and they're all going to have great careers in their lives. I'm very proud of them."

The seniors take solace in the fact they have helped the Redhawks make strides this season -- even if those haven't been as big as they wanted.

Southeast's 10 wins are two more than in any season since 2008-09. The Redhawks' four OVC victories match their most since that 2008-09 campaign.

"In high school we all had winning records. It's been different. But it's been a a growing process. These past two years have been such a huge change," Roberts said. "Coach always talks about how much the senior class has meant to what he's trying to accomplish.

"We've accomplished things that haven't been done in four or five years. We're proud of that. I think there's a bright future for the program."

Roberts, a native of Maryville, Tenn., is Southeast's leading scorer with an average of 11 points per game, and she is third in rebounding at 5.2. She has been a key player since her freshman season, making 79 starts and never averaging less than 7.6 points. She has started every game the past two years.

"It's crazy. It seems like yesterday when I was playing our first scrimmage freshman year, how nervous I was," Roberts said.

Roberts has an outside chance of becoming the 17th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Only six players have accomplished the feat playing Division I at Southeast for their entire career dating back to the 1991-92 season.

Roberts has 958 career points and needs 42 points in Southeast's final two games.

"That would be awesome," Roberts said about the potential milestone. "I try not to think about it."

Roberts, 10th in program history with 78 career 3-pointers, is scheduled to graduate in May with a major in finance and a minor in sports management.

Roberts, who plans on pursuing her master's degree at Southeast with an eye on eventually representing professional athletes either as an agent or financial manager, has no regrets about her decision to play for the Redhawks.

"Like every student-athlete you get frustrated at times, but I think it was a good decision on my part," Roberts said.

Harriel, who like Roberts has been a key player since she was a freshman, feels the same way.

"Through it all, through the ups and downs, it was definitely the right decision," said Harriel, who is from Cincinnati, Ohio. "It definitely went fast. Everybody always tells you that. You can't believe it. ... My senior year is almost over."

Harriel is averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds to rank second on the squad in both categories. She missed seven games during the nonconference season with a broken finger.

Last year Harriel led Southeast in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 10.4 points and 6.2 boards. She has made 71 career starts and has averaged at least 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds the past three seasons.

"I think that we've progressed. The seniors I came in with, we've kind of grown together," said Harriel, who is scheduled to graduate in December with a degree in exercise science after which she plans to attend physical therapy school. "It's definitely been progress, not exactly everything we wanted, but we were actually pretty proud. We hadn't won double-figure games before."

Shiffer, a native of Freeport, Ill., has made her mark at Southeast as a premier shot-blocker. Her 72 career rejections rank seventh in program history.

Shiffer, who is averaging 3.5 points and 3.9 rebounds, has been a key player since coming to Southeast as a sophomore.

"It's hard to believe it's almost over, but it's been a lot of fun," Shiffer said. "Making a lot of friends ... I've enjoyed it."

Shiffer, an exercise science major scheduled to graduate in May after which she plans to attend graduate school to become an occupational therapist, also is proud of the progress the Redhawks have made this season.

"We haven't been the winningest team, but I feel like we've done a good job of getting the program better, just doing our best," Shiffer said.

While Harriel, Roberts and Shiffer have been a big part of this year's team, Margenthaler emphasized that so has Norman in her role of student assistant coach.

Norman, from Freeport, Ill. -- she and Shiffer were high school teammates -- has not been able to play the past two seasons because of her back issues.

"I wish I could have had a chance to coach Katie, but it's been enjoyable being around her and she's been a big help to us. She's got a bright future," Margenthaler said.

Norman played in all 57 games, including 45 starts, during her first two seasons at Southeast. She tied for the team scoring lead with an average of 8.9 points per game as a sophomore in 2010-11.

Then came the back trouble that required surgery and eventually led her to make the difficult decision of ending her playing career.

"It was a very emotional decision. It's been very frustrating. It hasn't gotten any easier. Every game [I watch] kills me," Norman said. "But it was for the best. That's what the doctors told me. Everything happens for a reason."

Norman, who said her back doesn't hurt nearly as much now as when she was playing, has embraced her student coaching role.

"I've tried to contribute to the team as much as I can. You learn a lot more watching," said Norman, whose father was a longtime junior college men's basketball coach. "I've grown up with my dad as a coach. This has just added to it."

Norman is slated to graduate in May with a degree in communications disorders. She plans on pursuing her master's degree in speech pathology with an eye on working for a school in speech therapy while she coaches.

About Tech

Tennessee Tech is having another strong season. The Eaglettes are second in the OVC East Division and third in the league overall.

The Eaglettes have finished among the top four in the OVC's regular season the past three years. They captured the title in 2010-11.

Top scorers for the Eaglettes, who have won four of their last five games, are 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Diamond Henderson (16.3 ppg) and 5-5 senior guard Jala Harris (12.8 ppg).

Tech leads the OVC in both overall field-goal percentage (42.4) and 3-point percentage (37.8).