ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] It was pegged as the most important game of the year for Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball, and the team grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The Spartans held on to the lead down the stretch and rallied behind Shay Robinson's 19-point performance in a 61-55 win over Williams Baptist (Ark.) on Thursday.

Missouri Baptist (11-16, 10-13 AMC) needed a win over the Lady Eagles in order to solidify its hold on seventh place heading into the American Midwest Conference Tournament next week. Not only did the victory do that, but it gave the team a much needed boost heading into the final regular season game of 2017, set for Saturday against the No. 1-ranked Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)

The Spartans took an early hold of Thursday's game in Walnut Ridge, Ark. Missouri Baptist jumped-out to a 21-10 lead after the opening quarter and looked poised for a dominant win as the visitors shot 53 percent from the floor. Slowly but surely, however, the Lady Eagles closed the gap.

Williams Baptist cut the deficit to eight in the second quarter, but the real excitement came in the game's final 10 minutes.

Down by 10 with just under eight minutes to play, the Lady Eagles made their move. Tashanescii Walker recorded four points during a 10-2 run that cut the Missouri Baptist lead to two, but thanks to sound defense, a key block by Robinson and a late steal from Riley Reddin, the Spartans were able to regain their momentum late in the all-too-important victory.

Missouri Baptist shot 33.9 percent from the floor in the game, but were red-hot in the first half. The Spartans recorded a 44.9 shooting percentage from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and took a big lead that paid dividends in the end.

The key to the stretch run was, however, a solid night at the free throw line. Missouri Baptist shot 70.8 percent from the charity stripe in the win and knocked-down nine of its final 10 free throws.

In addition to Robinson's 19, Danna Jenkins led the team with three, three-pointers and posted 10 points on the night.

Williams Baptist was led by Walker, who came one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points on the night. Andrea Moffitt (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Tayler Harris (10 points, 10 rebounds), however, both grabbed one of their own.

With the win, the Spartans enter the final regular season test fresh off a win heading to face the undefeated, No. 1 team in the nation, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Henderson, Tenn., on Saturday.