NEW PALTZ, NY -- The No. 24 RIT (1-0) women's basketball team began the 2018-19 season with a thrilling 79-71 overtime win at SUNY New Paltz (0-1) Friday evening. Trailing by six points late in the fourth quarter, the Tigers scored six straight, including three free throws from Senior Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.

Okada finished with a game-high 27 points to go along with seven assists. She shot 6-of-11 from the floor, and was 12-of-13 from the foul line. Sabrina Wolfe (Troy, NY/Troy) scored a career-high 26 points, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, and grabbed nine rebounds. Junior Brooke Stanley (Minnetonka, MN/Benilde-St. Margaret's) tallied a career-high 15 points and had seven rebounds.

Lindsay Bettke led New Paltz with 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the floor. Rachel Simon tallied 12 points, while Taylor Howell and Marion Dietz each scored 11 points for the Hawks. Philesha Teape grabbed 10 boards.  

The Tigers led 20-18 after the first quarter and 33-26 at halftime. The Hawks came back in the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers 25-13 to lead 51-46 after three quarters of play. 

New Paltz took a 63-57 lead with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter on a pair of free throws from Bettke. On RIT's next possession, Okada came down and drained a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play to cut the Hawks lead to 63-60.

On New Paltz's next possession, Nicole Ziogas missed both free throws after being intentionally fouled. Wolfe grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Okada. She was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining, and calmly drained all three to tie the game, sending it into overtime.

RIT opened the overtime on a 15-5 run, taking a 10-point lead on a pair of free throws from Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton). Okada scored nine points in the overtime to finish with a game-high 27 points. 

RIT shot 43.1 percent from the floor on 25-of-58 shooting. The Tigers went 9-of-13 from 3-point land, and were 20-of-28 from the foul line. New Paltz held a slight 48-46 rebounding edge. The Hawks shot 29.1 percent from the floor on 23-of-79 shooting, including 54 three-point attempts.

"We struggled offensively most of the night," said RIT head coach Amy Reed. "New Paltz made some big 3-pointers and played us tough and physical, but I am really proud of our resiliency. We showed a lot of guts in this win tonight."

RIT returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 13 when the Tigers host cross-town rival the University of Rochester at 5 p.m. on the floor of Clark Gymnasium.