Utah Tech women's basketball sailed past the New Mexico State Aggies, earning a crucial 90-57 win inside Burns Arena on Saturday afternoon.
What head coach JD Gustin said: Our game plan defense caused problems today and our intent to rebound was solid, especially in the 1st half.
Breaunna [Gillen] and Amber [Kartchner] were both very aggressive in transition and that eventually opened up some good things for us.
If we can continue to rebound better and then cut our turn overs a bit, we have a chance to play some good basketball down the stretch.
How it happened: From the tip-off the Aggies were chasing the game after
Amber Kartchner opened her night up with a three-point bucket.
The game stayed close through the majority of the first quarter, but a pair of free-throws from Brooke Vance and a jumper from Breaunna Gillen extended the Trailblazers lead to eight to end the first quarter and the Aggies were never able to stage a comeback.
A Maggie McCord three-pointer extended the Trailblazers lead to 14 in the early goings of the second quarter and that started the ball rolling for Utah Tech. Kartchner and Taylia Stimpson got hot, paired with another three from McCord and at the halftime break the Trailblazers held a 19 point lead, ahead 43-24.
In the third quarter Stimpson hit a layup, followed up by a McCord three to extend the lead to 26. From there, it was all Trailblazers. The Aggies shot just 5-19 in the third quarter and the Trailblazers led 61-37 after three quarters.
In the final quarter, Utah Tech was able to extend the lead to 40 off an Averi Papa jumper. The damage was done with not enough time for a New Mexico State comeback and the Trailblazers would end the night with a 57-90 win.
Leaders: Utah Tech was led by
Amber Kartchner who posted 26 points, shooting 9-10 from the field and 3-3 from three. Kartchner's night was her career high in points (26), made field goals (9), three's made (3), free throws made (5) and free throws attempted (6).
Gillen, Stimpson and McCord also posted double-digits with 21, 13 and 12, respectively. Stimpson was just one point shy of tying her career record of 14.
Vance led the team in rebounds with 11, which was good for her career-high on the night. She was followed by McCord with five of her own.
Breaunna Gillen led the team in assists with eight, adding to her total as all-time assist leader in Utah Tech history.
Comparison: Utah Tech ended the game shooting 60 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three and 75 percent from the free throw line. UT totaled 39 rebounds, 16 assists, four steals and 20 turnovers.
New Mexico State shot 31 percent from the field, 15 percent from the three and 50 percent from the free throw line. The Aggies totaled 33 rebounds, 17 assists, 11 steals and 13 turnovers.
Notes to Know: Utah Tech is now 15-8 on the season and 7-5 in conference play.
Breaunna Gillen is just 36 points away from joining the 1,000 point club. She currently sits at 964 career points.
Next Up: The Trailblazers will finish out their home stand on Feb. 16th and 18th against Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV.
