Behind a game-high 17 points from Aailyah Ibarra and a stout defensive effort, Utah Tech women's basketball wrapped up its two-game Thanksgiving Weekend homestand with a 63-40 victory over Westcliff on Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Arena.
How it happened
After playing through a sluggish first quarter, the Trailblazers (4-4/0-0 WAC) looked as if they had flipped on the switch offensively to open the second period.
Utah Tech scored the first eight points of the frame, five of which came off the hot shooting hand of
Emily Isaacson, to turn a two-point lead into a 20-10 cushion just two minutes into the frame.
However the Blazers went ice cold from the floor from there, scoring just five total points the rest of the half.
Utah Tech could not get a shot to drop as the Trailblazers misfired on their next eight attempts, all while being hamstrung with five turnovers during that near eight-minute stretch.
Meanwhile Westcliff (3-3) rattled off 10-straight points as part of a 12-2 run to tie the game at 22-22 with 1:20 to play until halftime.
Lauren Crocker, who accounted for the Blazers' final five points of the half, managed to knock down a 3-pointer with 18 seconds to break the tie and provide Utah Tech a 25-22 cushion at the intermission.
Though the offense had its struggles in the opening 20 minutes, the Trailblazer defense shined in limiting Westcliff to just 8-of-30 (.267) from the floor while forcing 12 first half Warrior turnovers.
Utah Tech was finally able to pull away from Westcliff in the third quarter. The Blazers opened the period with eight-straight points and outscored the Warriors 16-6 over the next 10 minutes en route to a commanding 41-28 lead heading into the fourth.
The Trailblazers did not see their lead dip below double digits the rest of the way in coasting to their fourth win of the season.
Numbers to know
Ibarra scored 15 of her game-high 17 points after halftime and wound up with a career-high six rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes off the bench.
Isaacson poured in 10 of her 13 points in the first half, which helped the Trailblazers keep the Warriors at bay over the first 20 minutes. Isaacson went 5-of-6 from the floor with three 3-pointers and finished with a co-game high seven rebounds.
Brie Crittendon also had a solid afternoon, stuffing the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, two assists and a career-high tying five steals. Additionally,
Nicole Willardson tied a career high with three blocked shots to go with two points and seven rebounds.
Utah Tech connected on 23-of-61 from the floor (.377), which included an 8-of-31 (.258) clip from the perimeter. The Blazers also hit on 9-of-14 (.643) at the foul line and outrebounded Westcliff 45-36.
The story of the day was the Trailblazer defense, which held Westcliff to opponent season lows in points (40 – t-ninth in Utah Tech's NCAA era) and field goal percentage (.263; 15-of-57).
Meanwhile, the Warriors' six-point third quarter and 18-point second half were also Utah Tech opponent season lows.
In addition, the Trailblazers forced a season-high 25 turnovers and resulted in a season-best 17 steals.
Utah Tech's defense also held Westcliff without a double-digit scorer – which marked the first time the Trailblazers had achieved that feat in their newly minted NCAA Division I era.
The last time Utah Tech held an opponent without a double-digit scorer was during the 2018-19 season and nearly six years ago to the day in a home win vs. Western Oregon by nearly the same identical score of Saturday's result (W, 59-40; 11/16/18).
Hayley Berfield led the Warriors with nine points, while Maggie Lapray and Kassidy Beach each tallied six points apiece.
Up Next
Utah Tech will make the second of its five regular season trips to Texas, and in particular a return visit to Houston, this upcoming Wednesday night for a road date at Rice. Tip-off inside Tudor Fieldhouse is set for 6 p.m. (MT).
