Statistics

EWING, N.J. -- Paced by a combined 44 points from Cori Okada and Jessica Glaz, Rochester Institute of Technology defeated the University of New England by a 76-63 margin in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Friday evening (Mar. 2) at Packer Hall on the campus of The College of New Jersey.

The Tigers (22-6) advance to Saturday's second round against regional host TCNJ, which topped Hilbert College, 61-42. [Interactive Bracket]

UNE's 10-game unbeaten streak comes to an end with the setback, wrapping up the year at 23-6 overall.

Okada nearly doubled her season average with a game-high 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field. Glaz buried 5-of-9 attempts from long distance and finished with 20 points to go with eight rebounds. Sabrina Wolfe totaled 11 points.

RIT's accuracy from the floor proved to be the difference. The Tigers connected at a 52 percent clip through 30 minutes, and closed at 27-for-60 with an 8-of-19 showing from behind the arc. The Nor'easters, meanwhile, struck for 31 percent in the game (21-of-68) and 23 percent from deep (7-for-31).

For UNE, Ashley Coneys notched a season-high 20 points and seven boards prior to fouling out with five minutes to go. Olivia Shaw booked her 10th double-double with 19 points and a match-best 11 rebounds, while Jocelyn Chaput went for 16 points, seven caroms, and three steals.

The Nor'easters hit their first two shots of the night, but found themselves down nine (15-6) with 6:37 gone. Glaz tallied 11 for the Tigers during the turnaround. The separation reached 24-13 at the conclusion of the 1st quarter, before settling on 42-32 at the half.

Seven by Chaput sparked a 10-3 run early in the 3rd to trim the RIT advantage to three (47-44), but Okada countered with nine as part of a 17-4 stretch that pushed the gap to its peak (64-48).

UNE held the Tigers to just four free throws through almost eight minutes in the 4th, and had it down to 10 (68-58) with 6:54 remaining, but then suffered its own five-minute scoring drought.

The outcome closes the careers for Sam MacDonald, Shaw, and Kristie McNall. MacDonald, the only four-year player in the group, factored in 115 games and racked up 886 points while helping UNE post a 95-22 mark over that time. Shaw finishes her three campaigns with the Nor'easters at third on the program's all-time blocks list (82), and she grabbed the 9th-most rebounds in a single season during 2017-18 (273).

Including Shaw's first collegiate season at another institution, she totaled 982 points over 106 games.