COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College and Saint Anselm College women's basketball teams won contests on Saturday during the first day of the Purple Knights' 28th DoubleTree Tip-Off Classic at the Ross Sports Center. The hosts knocked off Queens (N.Y.) College, 71-37, while the Hawks downed Dominican (N.Y.) College, 52-44.

Junior Megan Olsen (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) had a career-high 21 points for Saint Michael's (2-2), going 8-of-8 on free throws while dishing out three assists. Senior Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, N.H./Fryeburg Academy) shot 7-of-10 for 15 points, while classmate Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) notched 10 points and five steals.

Queens (0-4) received 11 points and seven rebounds from sophomore reserve Catherine Pastor (Hewlett, N.Y./Hewlett).

The Purple Knights shot 57.6 percent in the first half, scoring the first seven points en route to eventually holding a 20-11 lead. Olsen played a role in 14 of her team's first 18 points, scoring 12 and assisting another hoop.  Saint Michael's later put together a 33-7 run that bridged halftime. After holding a 46-18 lead at intermission, the lead rose to as many as 36 points before the conclusion of the contest.

In the opener, Saint Anselm (4-0) led by as many as 13 points before holding off Dominican (0-2). Senior Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark./Har-Ber) led the Hawks with 13 points, hitting three three-pointers while handing out four assists. Senior Megan Howard (Saint Paul, Minn./Central) added eight points and 11 rebounds, helping her team hold a 41-22 advantage on the glass.

Sophomore KC Jentzen (Pearl River, N.Y./Nanuet) notched a game-best 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting for Dominican, while junior Lindsey Lopez (Elmwood Park, N.J./Immaculate Conception-Lodi) notched 12 points behind 4-of-8 three-point shooting.

Saint Anselm snapped a 5-all tie with nine straight points and never again lost the lead. The Chargers twice rallied to within three points, including at 18-15 on a Jentzen hoop with 9:08 to go in the first half, but the Hawks put together a 12-2 run that bridged halftime to grab a 30-17 advantage 1:52 into the second stanza. From there, Dominican scored 11 of the next 13 points, making it 32-28 on a Jentzen bucket at 14:50.

The Hawks began to pull away, totaling 12 of the game's next 15 points to grab a 44-31 lead with 7:26 remaining. Smith knocked down two three-pointers during the run. The Chargers crept to within seven points on two Jentzen free throws with 1:07 left but came no closer.

The tournament concludes tomorrow when the Purple Knights oppose Dominican at 2 p.m. In the opening contest, Queens and Saint Anselm meet at 12 p.m.