Forward Taylor Young’s long awaited return sparked the St.Thomas women’s basketball team to defeat Bethel 76-44 Monday at home.

The win over the Royals (1-10, 0-8 MIAC) increased the Tommies’ (10-1, 8-0 MIAC) winning streak to nine.

Young, a preseason All-American, didn’t not start the game, but took the court in the first half and finished as the Tommies’ leading scorer with 11 points.

Young said it was great being back on the court playing with her team.

“It was super fun. I was so excited, but I was actually nervous, too,” Young said.

Coach Ruth Sinn said it was great to have Young back because she plays a huge role on the team.

“It’s going to comfort everybody having her back,” Sinn said. “She worked so well with the team, making the extra pass. I thought the team was really fluent with her. It’s exciting.”

As the game started, the Tommies had a 12-0 run. The high-powered offense and lockdown defense caused Bethel 14 turnovers in the first half alone. St. Thomas scored 16 of 41 points off turnovers in the first half.

Forward Jenna Dockter posted nine points for the night and said the defense was solid the entire game.

“We knew Bethel was going to come out aggressively. Our plan on defense was to just go after it on the press,” Dockter said. “Communicating and getting lots of good traps. We did a good, aggressive job.”

The Tommies shot 51 percent from the field in the first half and shot 3-for-6 from behind the arc.

Bethel didn’t come close to St. Thomas in the second half, as the smallest deficit the Royals faced was 21 points.

Sinn said defense is important to her team and plays a big role in the game plan. However, she also wants an efficient offense.

“We always try to start with our defense,” Sinn said. “We talk about keeping an up-tempo game, keeping it full court.”

Guard Kelly Brandenburg tallied 10 points while center Anna Smith scored seven.

St. Thomas will travel to St. Peter, Minn. to battle Gustavus Wednesday.

Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.