St. Paul's School for Girls freshman Sharon Hull said her team's motto in the season-opening game Tuesday evening against visiting Mount de Sales was, "just go play-to-play."

But it didn't appear as if the Gators would get another play after Sailor junior Gabby Cha (14 points) swished two free throws with 1.5 seconds left in regulation to give the Sailors a 36-35 lead.

St. Paul's needed a break and the Gators got it — when freshman Jillian Randolph was fouled taking an off-balance toss at the basket from beyond the three-point arc.

Randolph, one of seven freshmen on the varsity roster, hit the first of three free throws with no time on the clock and sent the game to overtime, where the Gators pulled out a 43-39 victory.

"I was really impressed (with Randolph's clutch free throw), but some people were upset she didn't make all three, but she made the one she needed to make," Hull said.

Hull also made the basket she needed to in overtime.

Her semi-hook from the foul line squirted through and gave the Gators a 38-36 lead with 3:44 remaining.

"I just decided someone has got to get the intensity going, then we got our flow going and it ended up in a win for us," said Hull, who finished with eight points.

She also had a clutch basket with 37 seconds left in regulation that pushed the Gators ahead, 35-34 lead. It was their only field goal of the fourth quarter after six straight misses.

That open layup came off a pass from Eboni Dorsey (5 points), following a perfectly-executed inbounds play from midcourt.

"It was a set play," Hull said. "I picked for the point guard and the forward set a screen for me."

After Hull's overtime basket, junior Haley McDonnell (10 points) hit a three-pointer with 2:57 left, pushing the lead to 41-36.

Sailor sophomore Eve Lukowski (6 points), who had three offensive rebounds in overtime, made a free throw and Lilly Robb (10 points) converted a baseline drive, cutting the lead down to 41-39 before freshman Kacie McNeave (6 points) made two free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the victory.

The Sailors led 17-14 at halftime, but were outscored 15-6 in the third quarter when the Gators picked up the defensive intensity.

Katie Kreps (5 points, 12 rebounds), Dorsey, Hull and Randolph were tough on the inside during the quarter, which ended with the Gators on top, 32-23.

"That was just our youth in us," said Sailor coach Trish Armstrong, whose team returned only four varsity players. "We kind of had a letdown on defense."

The Sailors rallied to tie with a 9-0 run, culminating in Cha's conventional three-point play that tied the score at 32-32 with 4:06 remaining.

Robb, who took over point guard duties from senior starter Kara Hand after she left with an injured ankle with 11.7 seconds left in the third quarter, scored seven points during the fourth-quarter rally.

It was a rally that put the Sailors 1.5 seconds away from a win, before the Gators snatched a tie and eventual victory from the jaws of defeat.

"Both teams played really hard," St. Paul's coach Jim Stromberg said. "I thought it was fairly good, quality basketball for the first game of the year."