Rachel Parupsky struggled with injuries early in the season but sure seemed at full strength at St. Thomas. d3photography.com file photo by Larry Radloff

Bethel struggled over the early part of the season, with Kalli Zimmermann out completely because of injury and Rachel Parupsky struggling to come to form, helping limit the Royals to a 4-4 start.

• Saturday's women's scores
• Saturday's men's scores
• Even more women's game stories
• Even more men's game stories

But at the D3hoops.com Classic, there were signs Bethel was ready to put it together, with an easy win vs. Millsaps and a competitive loss to No. 2 George Fox.

On Saturday, that optimism showed it was justified. Bethel finished the first quarter on a 16-4 run and took it to No. 9 St. Thomas, defeating the Tommies on the road 80-60.

Parupsky made five of her first six shots from the floor en route to a game-high 17 points, helping fuel a 29-13 spurt in the second and third quarters to put the Royals (8-5, 4-2 MIAC) in cruise control. St. Thomas (10-3, 4-2) never trailed by fewer than 15 in the second half.

No. 24 UW-Stevens Point came out firing in the fourth quarter and rallied past No. 6 UW-Whitewater, 63-56 at Stevens Point. The Pointers (11-2, 2-0 WIAC) were 12-for-12 from the foul line in the final period after Whitewater (12-1, 1-1) opened the fourth by taking a 47-41 lead. Allie Miceli had 13 points and nine rebounds to pace the Pointers.

No. 10 Muhlenberg held Johns Hopkins scoreless for the final three minutes of regulation and needed that defensive run to send the game to overtime. The Mules pulled away from the Blue Jays 70-65 in the extra period to stay unbeaten. Brandi Vallely had 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals for Muhlenberg (10-0, 4-0).

Mary Hardin-Baylor rallied from a 12-point deficit and took the lead in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as No. 7 UT-Tyler went on to win 68-63. The Patriots (13-1, 7-0 ASC) got 16 points apiece from D'Onna Matthews and Michelle Obach.

Top-ranked Thomas More roared out to a 31-10 lead at the first quarter and never looked back as the Saints went on to roll over Washington and Jefferson 103-56. It was W&J's first PAC loss in six conference outings this season, while Thomas More improved to 12-0, 6-0. Freshman Madison Temple led all players with 23 points for Thomas More.

Messiah improved to 10-4, 4-1 in the MAC Commonwealth, knocking off No. 15 Albright by a 59-49 margin. Messiah held the Lions to 28.3 percent shooting from the floor. Kaitlyn Hoff matched a career-high with 22 points, while Gillian Glackin added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

No. 4 NYU went on a 12-0 run in the first quarter and made it stand up the rest of the way as the Violets defeated Brandeis 57-46 in the teams' UAA opener. Kaitlyn Read scored a game-high 16 points, adding six assists and six steals for NYU (11-0, 1-0). Lisa Murphy scored 33 points and added 13 rebounds to lead No. 25 Carnegie Mellon past Case Western Reserve 85-61. The Tartans (12-0, 1-0) outrebounded the Spartans 51-22 in the win. Kayla Kibling, Sarah Kaminsky and Alexandra Leslie scored 17 points apiece to lead No. 12 Rochester past Emory 75-68.

Jennifer Berg scored a game-high 16 points and Hannah Considine added 14 as No. 17 Wheaton (Ill.) defeated North Central 78-67. Aaliyah Johnson hit a layup with 6:55 left in the game to cut the Thunder lead to 62-60, but Wheaton scored the next seven as part of a 14-4 run to put the game away.

A pair of free throws with six-tenths of a second remaining in overtime by Bre Luurtsema lifted No. 19 Calvin to a 79-77 victory at Olivet. The Knights shot just 16-for-32 from the foul line but got the two it needed at the end. Kally Verkiak led Calvin with 21 while Anna Timmer added 19.

Beyond the Top 25: Bluffton stays unbeaten

Marymount moved back atop the CAC by shutting down York (Pa). Marymount athletics photo

Bluffton used a 15-3 run midway through the fourth quarter to finally get some separation as the Beavers pulled away from Anderson for a 75-66 victory. A Shelby Shaffer three-pointer with 8:29 to play pulled the Ravens (3-10, 2-4 HCAC) within one point before the Beavers rolled off eight straight points for their largest lead of the game at 68-59 just over three minutes later. Bluffton remains unbeaten at 13-0, 6-0 HCAC.

Keene State dropped off the list of unbeaten teams as Southern Maine rallied from a 17-point deficit for a 65-59 win. Keene State led 45-28 with 2:45 left in the third quarter but the Huskies scored the next 17 to tie it early in the fourth. Ella Ramonas scored 14 of her career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Huskies. 

Kate Matthews tallied her sixth straight double-double and the ninth of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds and Kaitlin Schullstrom had 21 points and seven assists to lead Rowan past Kean 103-97. The Profs improved their record to 13-1, 7-0 in the NJAC.

Marymount toppled York (Pa.) 61-33, to claim sole possession of first place in the Capital Athletic Conference with the only remaining unblemished record of 6-0. The Saints (11-2, 6-0 CAC), who trailed through the first 10 minutes 12-8, used a 17-2 second quarter to put the Spartans (11-2, 5-1) behind for the remainder of the game. 

DePauw has its first losing streak since joining the NCAC after Kenyon beat the Tigers 60-53. The Lords held DePauw to two points in the first quarter. Stockton has righted itself after losing three of its first five. The Ospreys (10-3, 5-2) topped Ramapo 63-49 for their eighth straight victory and host Montclair State on Wednesday.