COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team kept its postseason hopes alive by holding its school-record 16th opponent to 60 points or fewer on Saturday with a 52-41 victory over Saint Anselm College in the Ross Sports Center. With the Senior Day triumph, the Purple Knights are 11-14 overall and 8-13 in the Northeast-10 Conference, snapping a tie with the Hawks, who are 13-14 and 7-14.

Heading into its regular-season finale on Tuesday, when it hosts Southern New Hampshire University at 5:30 p.m., the Purple and Gold is tied for 10th in a league that takes the top 10 into the postseason. It needs a win that night to continue remaining in contention for the ninth or 10th tournament seed.

Juniors Nicole Adach (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen) and junior Megan Olsen (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) each netted 11 points for a balanced Saint Michael's offense, as Olsen went 3-of-3 from three-point range. Senior Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) had nine points, classmate Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, N.H./Fryeburg Academy) notched seven, and senior Samantha Steinmetz (Washington, Conn./Shepaug Valley) had eight rebounds while drawing her second career starting assignment. In four minutes off the bench, freshman Morgan Jenkins (Revere, Mass./Revere) notched five boards and four points.

Sophomore Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y./Academy of Holy Names) totaled 14 points for the Hawks, hitting four threes, and classmate Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset) notched 12 points and five rebounds.

The Purple Knights rushed out to a 28-5 lead by the time 5:53 remained in the opening half, as Olsen canned three three-pointers in that stretch to pace the hosts' 6-of-8 performance from long range in that time. Adach scored the first five points of an opening 8-0 run, and Quinn canned a three with 9:31 remaining to produce a 19-2 margin. The Hawks finished the half on a 7-2 run, and Saint Michael's held a 30-14 lead at the intermission behind an 18-5 rebounding advantage and a 60-percent showing from three.

Hennessy had a personal five-point possession early in the second half, hitting two free throws following being intentionally fouled 1:02 into play before hitting a three, and the hosts held a 35-15 lead. The Hawks trimmed their deficit to as few as 10 twice during the final 3:17 but came no closer.