Utah Tech was felled by cold shooting and a furious second half Skyhawk rally as the Trailblazers dropped an 89-86 home decision to Stonehill College on Wednesday afternoon inside the Burns Arena.
 
How it happened 
Utah Tech (1-2/0-0 WAC) took control of the game in the early going. The Trailblazers knocked down their first four shots, including three perimeter jumpers, and hit on 7-of-9 from the floor with four 3-pointers on their way to a commanding 22-8 lead just six minutes into the action.
 
In all, five different Trailblazers hit 3-pointers in the period as Utah Tech owned a 31-14 lead following a Nicole Willardson convention three-point play just before the first-quarter horn.
 
Stonehill (2-1) came out firing to start the second period, hitting seven of its first 11 shots as part of a 19-7 run that cut the Utah Tech lead to 38-33 after a Chelsea Graiver 3-pointer. 

That trey was one of five perimeter shots the Skyhawks drained over that stretch, three of which came off the shooting hand of Sharn Hayward. 

Utah Tech guard Aaliyah Ibarra then took over, scoring the Trailblazers' next 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers of her own to push the lead back to double digits. 
 
Then after two Stonehill free throws, Calyn Dallas drained a deep perimeter jumper to extend the Utah Tech lead to 14 at 51-37 with 1:45 to go in the first half.
 
However Stonehill closed the stanza with seven-straight points, and the Trailblazers retreated to their locker room with a 51-44 cushion at the halftime break.
 
Utah Tech methodically built its lead back to double figures over the first four-plus minutes of the second half and was staked to a 65-52 cushion after Ibarra's fourth three-ball of the game with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Unfortunately the homestanding Trailblazers saw that lead evaporate as they were held to only one field goal and six total points in the frame. Meanwhile Stonehill rattled 11-straight points as part of a 15-6 rally that pared the Blazer lead to 71-67 through three quarters complete.

The Skyhawks kept their momentum going with eight-straight points to begin the fourth quarter en route to a 75-71 advantage with 7:49 remaining.
 
Utah Tech wrestled the lead back with a 7-2 spurt thanks to a pair of Brie Crittendon lay-ins and a Kastyn Young 3-pointer that put the Blazers back on top at 78-77 at the 5:26 mark.
 
Stonehill answered with a 9-3 run and enjoyed its largest lead of the game at 86-81 after another Hayward three with 3:03 left.
 
The Trailblazers battled back with five unanswered points over the next two minutes to tie the game at 86-86 with 1:04 to go. Chardonnay Hartley accounted for three of those points with a lay-up and a free throw.
 
After Stonehill was called for a five-second violation on the ensuing play, Emily Isaacson drove from the top of the key and banked in a three-foot leaner to draw her side even.
 
Skyhawk guard Shira Elkis split a pair of free throws to give Stonehill the lead back on its next possession. Then after a Trailblazer miss on the other end, Hayward drew a foul and hit both charity tosses to push the Skyhawk lead to three with 8.8 seconds remaining on the clock.
 
Utah Tech got the ball back with a chance to tie the game with a three, but could not get a shot off before the final horn sounded, and Stonehill escaped with the come-from-behind road win.
 
Numbers to know
Ibarra led all scorers with 23 points off the bench on 9-of-14 from the floor including 5-of-8 from three-point country. The junior guard also picked off a co-game high three steals and had one assist and one rebound in a season-high 24 minutes of action.
 
Meanwhile Young tied her season and career high with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting with three 3-pointers in 23-plus reserve minutes.

In all, the Trailblazer bench outscored the Skyhawk reserves by a 45-24 count.

True freshman Ellie Taylor started for the third time in as many games and poured in a career-high 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Taylor also pulled down a team and career-high seven rebounds and tied a career-best with four assists.
 
After hitting on 12-of-19 (.632) from the floor in the first quarter, Utah Tech shot just 36.2 percent (21-of-58) over the final three quarters to finish at 42.9 percent (33-of-77) for the game.
 
The Trailblazers also went cold from the perimeter after that opening period, during which they drained 5-of-8 (.625) from downtown. However Utah Tech went on to connect on only 7-of-32 (.219) from beyond the arc the rest of the way (12-of-40; .300).
 
Utah Tech shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) at the the foul line and finished with 18 assists on its 33 made shots, including seven dimes from Hartley.
 
Harward led four Skyhawks in double figures with 22 points. Kylie Swider added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Maureen Stapleton chipped in 12 points along with a game-high 11 boards, as Stonehill outrebounded Utah Tech by a 45-37 count.

Stonehill shot 47.0 percent for the game (31-of-66), which included a 12-of-28 clip (.429) from the perimeter. After opening the game just 5-of-14 (.357) from the floor, the Skyhawks connected on an even 50 percent (26-of-52) of their shots from the second quarter on, including an 11-23 (.478) clip from 3-point country.
 
Up next
Utah Tech returns to action this Saturday night when the Trailblazers host in-state rival Weber State. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is slated for 7 p.m. (MT).