Jenny Knapp scored all of her game-high 15 points from behind the arc to help lead the Tigers to a 65-50 victory over UC Santa Cruz in the opening game of the 2008 Colorado College Challenge on Friday night at Reid Gymnasium.
The freshman guard made five of seven three-pointers and nearly matched her total of 19 points scored during the first seven games of the season.
The Banana Slugs took a 20-19 lead with 4:49 to go on a layup by Alison Scarbrough, but Knapp knocked down a pair of treys to spark a 16-4 run which gave the Tigers a 35-24 advantage after 20 minutes.
Colorado College stretched its lead to 17 points when Emily Wattman-Turner scored with 15:38 remaining in the game, but the Slugs cut their deficit to eight points on a three-pointer by Kayleigh Calandri with 7:35 to go.
But that was as close as UCSC would get because Knapp answered with her final three-pointer 14 seconds later and the Tigers closed out the game with a 13-6 run.
Eliese Hansberry notched her second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, which was her exact totals from last season's victory over Sewanee. Melanie Auguste added 13 points, six assists and three steals.
Calandri led the Banana Slugs with 13 points, while Lydia Andrews came off the bench to score 10 points. Molly Davisson had a team-high nine rebounds.
CC (5-3) has won three in a row for the first time since the start of the 2005-06 season.
The challenge will continue at 2 p.m. Saturday when UC Santa Cruz (3-6) takes on Methodist College. Colorado College will play host to the Monarchs on Sunday in the tournament finale.