Five Trailblazers scored in double figures as Utah Tech's women's basketball team opened the 2024-25 campaign with an 87-66 victory over Northern New Mexico on Monday afternoon inside the Burns Arena.
 
How it happened 
The Trailblazers got off to a sluggish start as they found themselves down by a 10-3 count three-plus minutes into the game. Northern New Mexico (1-2), which was playing its third game in four days, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers en route to the early advantage.
 
Utah Tech (1-0) finally got the jolt it was waiting for at the 6:19 mark when point guard Chardonnay Hartley quickly penetrated the lane and kicked the ball out to Lauren Crocker, who knocked down the Blazers' first three-ball of the year from the near corner.
 
That bucket ignited a 21-2 run that saw the Trailblazers drain five total perimeter jumpers, three of which came off the hot shooting hand of Kastyn Young.

Young accounted 12 of Utah Tech's 21 points in the rally, including a conventional three-point play, while Crocker added another trifecta and Hartley hit a floater in the lane, as the Trailblazers led 26-16 after one quarter complete.

The Trailblazers quickly extended their lead to 14 points to open the second period, only to see NNMC counter with eight-straight points to make a six-point game at 30-24.
 
Utah Tech clapped back with back-to-back-to-back treys from Emily Isaacson, Crocker and Hartley to push its lead back to double digits at 39-24 midway through the stanza.
 
However the Blazers were not able to deliver the knockout blow as the Eagles rattled off 10-straight points as part of a 12-2 spurt that cut the Blazer lead to five at 41-36 with just under three minutes to play until halftime.

That would be as close as NNMC would get as Utah Tech scored the final seven points of the frame and retreated to its locker room with a 49-36 lead at the intermission.
 
The Trailblazers did not see their cushion dip below double figures in the second half, and they led by as 25 points before settling for the 21-point margin of victory.  
 
Numbers to know
Hartley was stellar in her Trailblazer debut as she posted a double-double with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with a game-high 10 assists. The junior point guard also collected five rebounds and picked off three steals.
 
Hartley became the fifth different player in Utah Tech's NCAA era to record a double-double in a season-opening game, and she is the third Trailblazer to register a double-double in points and assists in a season opener. 

Last season, Macie Warren went for 19 points and 10 assists in the Blazers' season-opening win over La Verne (11/6/23). Meanwhile former Blazer guard Breaunna Gillen achieved the feat twice, the first came as part of the first of her three career triple-doubles (14p/10r/11a) vs. Life Pacific (11/9/21) in the 2021-22 opener. Gillen did it again a year later in the 2022-23 opener at Washington (21p/11a; 11/7/22). 
 
In addition, Hartley became just the sixth different player to score 20 or more points in a season opener in the program's four-year era, with Gillen (21 pts) being the last to do it in last year's opener vs. La Verne.

Young knocked down a co-game high four trifectas en route to 17 points off the bench, while Isaacson poured in 14 points on 5-of-9 from the floor with three 3-pointers in her first game back after suffering a season-ending knee injury nearly one year ago.
 
True freshman Ellie Taylor got the starting nod in her collegiate debut, and she proceeded to fill the stat sheet with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Crocker was also stellar in her Blazer debut with 10 points, eight boards and two blocks of her own.
 
Utah Tech shot 41.6 percent from the floor (32-of-77), including a 17-of-47 clip (.362) from beyond the arc. The Trailblazers' 17 3-pointers matched last season's total in their win over La Verne (17-of-38), which also tied for the fifth-most in a single-game in the program's NCAA era. 
 
Utah Tech also owned a 53-38 rebounding margin, 16-7 on the offensive glass, and finished with 25 assists on its 32 made field goals. The 25 dimes are tied for the 10^th-most in a single game in program history. 
 
Ethena Silva led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting with four 3-pointers. Northern New Mexico connected on 36.5 percent of its shots (23-of-63), though the Eagles did go 12-of-29 (.414) from beyond the arc. 
 
Up next
Utah Tech begins the road portion of its 2024-25 schedule this upcoming Thursday night at New Mexico State. The game, which is part of the WAC/Conference USA Alliance, is set to tip-off at 6 p.m. (MT), inside the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M.