Utah Tech rallied late but could not overtake Grand Canyon as the Trailblazers closed their 2022-23 home slate with a 70-63 loss to the Lopes on Tuesday night inside the Burns Arena.
 
How it happened 
Utah Tech trailed 17-14 after one quarter and quickly fell behind by two possessions when GCU (20-8/12-5 WAC) guard Ellie Buzzelle knocked down one of her five 3-pointers to open the second.
 
The Blazers (17-11/9-8 WAC) countered with a 13-6 spurt to erase the deficit and take a slim 27-26 lead with 3:05 to go until halftime. Breaunna Gillen scored six of UT's first eight points in the rally, while an Emily Isaacson trey and two Amber Kartchner free throws gave Utah Tech its first lead since late in the first quarter.
 
Unfortunately the Trailblazers could not build upon that lead as Buzzelle answered with back-to-back threes, the last of which she drew a foul and completed the four-point play, as GCU enjoyed a 34-29 cushion at the intermission.
 
Grand Canyon would extend its lead to double digits at 44-34 with four minutes gone in the third quarter, which forced the Blazers to a call timeout. 
 
Kartcher hit a 3-pointer out of that timeout to trim the deficit to seven, but a pair of costly UT turnovers moments later allowed the Lopes to extend to their biggest lead of the night at 51-39 with just over three minutes left in the frame.
 
Averi Papa led UT back with five-straight points, while Isaacson buried another 3-pointer to cut the GCU to 51-47. The Lopes would score the final two points of the third and managed to build their lead back up to seven at 57-50 with 7:55 remaining.
 
Utah Tech battled back and eventually pulled even at 63-63 with 2:08 to go after two Kartchner free throws. However those points would be the last Blazers points of the game as GCU held UT scoreless the rest of the way, and hit 5-of-6 from the line in the closing seconds to escape with the road win. 
 
Numbers to know
Isaacson led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-8 effort from the perimeter, and tallied six rebounds and two steal. Isaacson's 20 points marked the third time that she scored at least 20 in WAC play this season, while her five made 3-pointers moved her into third place on UT's single season list (71). 
 
Meanwhile, Gillen filled the stat sheet with 19 points, seven boards, four assists and one steal. Gillen also moved into third place on UT's career scoring list (1,070) and pulled into a tie for second on the program's career field goals made list (407). 
 
Kartcher finished with 12 points and three steals, while Papa chipped in nine points and led the Blazers with nine rebounds. 
 
Utah Tech shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) for the game, which included an 8-of-26 (.308) effort from the perimeter. UT also went 13-of-15 (.867) at the foul line.

Utah Tech played in its 200^th NCAA game in the Burns Arena (130-70, .650).  
 
Tiarra Brown led four Lopes in double figures with 18 points, while Buzzelle poured in 15 points off the bench. GCU connected on 27-of-64 (.422) of its field goal attempts, 8-of-26 (.308) from beyond the arc, and outrebounded Utah Tech by a 40-34 count.  
 
Up next
Utah Tech will head north up Interstate 15 for a Thursday "Old Hammer Rivalry" showdown at Utah Valley. Tip-off inside the UCCU Center in Orem is set for 6 p.m.