Sophomore Taylor Young scored 10 of her 16 points in the second half as No. 15-ranked St. Thomas avoided the upset bug and rallied for a 51-46 women's basketball win over visiting Macalester in MIAC play Monday night at Schoenecker Arena.
St. Thomas (18-1 overall, 16-0 MIAC) ran its win streak to 18 despite a poor shooting night from the field and the line.
The Toms closed out an 11-0 run in January over 29 days and improved to 7-0 at home this season.
UST's Sarah Smith chipped in 14 points and six rebounds, and Maggie Weiers added eight points and six boards.
Maggie Wood led the Scots (8-11, 6-11) with 13 points.
UST kept its two-game lead over Gustavus atop the conference standings wih six games to go. St. Thomas also secured an MIAC playoff spot and is already assured of a top-four playoff seed.
The Tommies used a 14-0 mid-game run to erase a nine-point deficit late in the first half. The second half had five ties and three lead changes.
Macalester took a 41-38 lead with 6:22 left on Wood's 3-point basket.
The game was knotted at 44-44 but the Toms closed the game on a 7-2 run and made 4-of-4 free throws in the final 41 seconds. Young made both ends of a 1-and-1 situation to build the lead to five with 41 seconds to play. Ali Johnson made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 14 second left and UST leading by three.
The Toms play Wednesday at St. Ben's and Saturday at Augsburg before getting their final four games at home.
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