BOX SCORE ROHNERT PARK, Calif- If Saturday's game wasn't the most exciting way to kick off the 2011-12 regular season, then we're not sure what could top it.  With just seconds remaining in regulation, Travis Newman corralled an offensive rebound and scored the putback with just 0.6 seconds left to force overtime at 49-49 between Sonoma State and Colorado Mesa.  Then, Newman nailed the go-ahead three-pointer with 51 seconds left in the extra period and the Seawolf defense held strong in the final moments to earn an exciting, hard-fought 55-54 overtime win in SSU's regular season opener over the Mavericks on Saturday in Rohnert Park.

The Seawolves have won their fifth straight season-opener while sending the visiting Colorado Mesa Mavericks to 0-2 (CMU lost to Chico State on Friday).

Despite Sonoma State grabbing the early lead on a layup by Marie Sweet, putting the Seawolves up 2-0, the Colorado Mesa would lead for much of the afternoon. However, the Seawolves would keep close, never trailing by more than nine points at any one time in the game. The first large Maverick advantage came at the 9:20 mark of the first half when they led 13-6, but the Seawolves chipped away at the deficit and a Jaclyn Bisordi jumper would pull into a tie at 18-18 with 3:11 to play in the opening period. The tie would last for over two minutes before CMU would score again to break the deadlock. Then, Hillary Duncan would score a basket to beat the buzzer, giving the Mavs a 24-20 lead at halftime.

Colorado Mesa's Amy Weitzell netted the first point of the second half on a free throw at 19:01 to go up by five at 25-20, but Sonoma State went on a 10-0 run thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Newman and Taylor Vigil and a couple of made shots by Sweet and Alysa Ito. The Mavericks responded with a 11-2 run of their own to regain a four-point lead at 36-32, eventually extending their lead to as much as nine points at 46-37 with 5:44 left in regulation.

The Seawolves then began their move, going on a 10-2 run to pull within one point (48-47) on a free throw by Tori Carroll with 53 seconds left. As time continued to fade away, Colorado Mesa drew a foul with 26 seconds left, putting Kelsey Sigl at the line with two upcoming shots. Sigl missed the first of two, but drained the second, giving the Mavericks a two-point advantage. On the ensuing SSU possession, CMU forced a turnover, but then turned the ball right back over, giving the Seawolves new life with just nine seconds remaining on the game clock.

Out of a timeout, Bisordi would find herself with an opportunity to win the game with a three pointer, but the shot would rim off the left side of the iron. However, Carroll was there to grab the offensive board before putting up a desperate shot of her own with time running down. The shot would fly over the rim to the right side of the paint where Newman happened to be standing. It would be Newman who caught and released the ball just as time expired, only to get mobbed by her teammates when the shot fell through the net to knot the game at 49-49 and force overtime.

In the extra period, Colorado Mesa would take a three-point lead at 54-51 on a pair of free throws by Katrina Selsor with 3:20 left. Then Bisordi would hit one of two free throws to cut the CMU lead to just two with a little over two minutes left in OT.  Several possessions later, Newman came up big again. She nailed a 25-foot jumper from the top of the key to give the Seawolves a 55-54 lead with 51 seconds left.

Trailing by one, Colorado Mesa possessed the ball for several seconds before it turned the ball over with 36 seconds left.  Still a two possession game based on the difference between the game clock and shot clock, the Seawolves tried to put the game as far out of reach as they could while running down the clock. But the Mavericks played tough and induced a 30-second shot clock violation on the Seawolves and CMU had the ball with a chance to run the length of the floor and win the game, albeit with only six seconds left. As the ball was passed inbounds at the opposite end of the floor, Selsor sprinted down the court and tried driving the lane, but couldn't get a shot up before the buzzer sounded and SSU held on for the 55-54 win.

Newman proved to be the hero -- twice -- and led Sonoma State with 16 points.  Sweet chipped in with 10 points and Bisordi added nine. As a team, the Seawolves only shot 32.8 percent from the floor (19-58) while the Mavericks hit on 18 of their 40 shots from the field (45.0 percent), but only went 0-2 in overtime.

Sigl led all scorers with 28 points, accounting for more than half of Colorado Mesa's 54 points.

Sonoma State will return to action next Saturday (Nov. 26) when it travels to Arcata to open up California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play against the Lumberjacks of Humboldt State. Tipoff from Lumberjack Arena is set for 5:30 p.m.