Box Score Utah Tech women's basketball got its first win of conference play, beating in-state rival Utah Valley 68-58 inside the Burns Arena on Saturday afternoon.
What head coach
JD Gustin said: Gritty win today for our team. UVU has played well as of late and we haven't seen zone yet this year so it was a big game for us. We handled the zone ok but still turned the ball over too much. Fortunately, we were better on the boards than in recent games and that had a big impact on the outcome.
How it happened: Breaunna Gillen opened the scoring for the Trailblazers with a deep three to set the team off on the right foot. Gillen's three started her <>> night. The game was tied 8-8 with four minutes to play in the quarter when the Blazers started on a 10-0 run to end the half with an 18-8 lead.
Through the second quarter the Blazers held onto the lead and extended it to a 17 point lead. The Wolverines were able to claw their way back some of the way, drawing it to an 11 point split at the end of the half. A Gillen buzzer-beater layup gave the Blazers their 32-21 lead at the break.
In the third quarter a run of two three-pointers from Maggie McCord and an additional three from freshman Alyson Deaver extended the Trailblazers lead to a 18 points split, leading 46-28 midway through the quarter. At the end of the quarter the Blazers held the 53-37 lead.
The Trailblazers continued their dominance through the fourth quarter. In the dying moments of the game Maggie McCord got her tenth rebound, which paired with her 10 points on the night gave her a double-double.
At the end the Trailblazers were able to hold the 68-58 lead to advance to 1-1 in WAC play.
Leaders: Utah Tech was led by
Amber Kartchner who posted 19 points, shooting 6-11 from the field. Isaacson and McCord also posted double-digits with 16 and 10, respectively.
McCord led the team in rebounds with 10, followed by Isaacson who was one shy of the double-double with nine.
Breaunna Gillen led the team in assists with six.
Comparison: Utah Tech ended the game shooting 39 percent from the field, 28 percent from the three and 71 percent from the free throw line. UT totaled 47 rebounds, 16 assists, six steals and 18 turnovers.
Utah Valley shot 34.4 percent from the field, 19.2 percent from the three and 81.8 percent from the free throw line. The Wildcats totaled 35 rebounds, 15 assists, 10 steals and 11 turnovers.
Notes to Know: Utah Tech is now 9-4 on the season.
Next Up: The Trailblazers will continue conference play with a trip to Texas on Jan. 5 for a game against Stephen F. Austin and a Saturday matinee versus Sam Houston on Jan. 7.
