Senior forward Taylor Young scored 23 points as No. 9-ranked St. Thomas (10-2 overall, 8-1 MIAC) moved back into first place atop the conference standings with Monday night's 69-52 home win over the Bethel Royals (9-2, 7-1) in women's basketball play at Schoenecker Arena.

UST handed Bethel its first conference loss and pushed its own home-floor win streak to nine dating back to last winter. St. Thomas leads the Royals and St. Mary's (each 7-1) by one half game.

The Tommies outscored Bethel 15-3 from 3-point range and helped hold the Royals to a season-low 52 points on just 27 percent shooting. St. Thomas built a 34-20 halftime lead and the Royals never got closer than 10 in the final 20:00.

BU center Rachel Parupsky picked up two quick fouls and played just 23 minutes on the night yet still collected 14 points and five rebounds. BU sank 21-of-24 foul shots and had only 11 turnovers but couldn't overcome its cold shooting a 41-31 rebounding deficit.

Maggie Weiers chipped in 13 points and 13 rebounds in just 23 minutes for UST. Laura Margarit added nine points and five rebounds; Katie Stone added seven assists; and freshman transfer Kaitlin Langer scored six points in just her third game as a Tommie.

The Tommies play Wednesday night at Gustavus.