Utah Tech was tripped up by cold shooting and 23 turnovers as the Trailblazers suffered their first loss of the 2024-25 season, 85-63, at New Mexico State on Thursday night inside the Pan American Center in Las Cruces.
How it happened
The Trailblazers had a hard time solving NM State's (2-0) pressure defense, which forced seven first quarter turnovers and 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Despite the early miscues, Utah Tech (1-1) managed to keep pace with the Aggies, thanks in large part to junior point guard
Chardonnay Hartley, who scored 12 first-quarter points, eight of which came at the foul line (8-of-12).
Meanwhile,
Emily Isaacson and
Ellie Taylor both connected from three-point country, with Taylor's trey drawing Utah Tech even at 20-20 with 1:52 to play in the frame.
NM State then broke the game open with a 16-4 run that stretched over the final two minutes of the first quarter, and the opening three-plus minutes of the second, to bolt to a commanding 38-24 lead with 5:08 to go until halftime.
Taylor finally stopped the run with a conventional three-point play, while Hartley followed with a lay-in and free throw of her own that trimmed the deficit to 40-30.
However the Aggies, who held Utah Tech to eight total points in the second quarter, went on to score the final six points of the stanza en route to a 46-30 advantage at the intermission.
NM State opened the second half with a 12-5 spurt to extend to a 23-point cushion and never looked back to cruise for the home win.
Numbers to know
Hartley posted her second 20-plus point game of the young season with a team and season-high 23 points, including 12-of-19 at the foul line. The junior's 12 made free throws tied for the third-most by a Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era, while her 19 attempts broke the Utah Tech single game school record. Hartley also dished out a game-high five assists and pulled down two rebounds.
Hartley became just the fourth Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to open a season with consecutive 20-point games, and the second to do it in the program's current NCAA Division I era. Former Utah Tech guard
Breaunna Gillen was the last Trailblazer to achieve the feat, doing so last year against both La Verne (21 points; 11/6/23) and Jacksonville State (24 points; 11/9/23).
Isaacson finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and a season-high five steals.
Calyn Dallas added 10 points off the bench with two 3-pointers, while Taylor added eight points.
Utah Tech was held to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor (20-of-53), which included a 6-of-20 (.300) clip from the perimeter. The Trailblazers also went 17-of-28 (.607) from the foul line and finished with eight assists on their 20 made shots.
The Blazers wound up with 23 turnovers on the night, which resulted in 24 Aggie points, and were outrebounded by a 41-31 count.
Molly Kaiser led all scorers with a career-high 35 points on 14-of-21 shooting with three 3-pointers, while Fanta Gassama posted her second double-double in as many games with 14 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. NM State shot an even 50.0 percent for the game (32-of-64), though the Aggies were just 7-of-22 (.318) from beyond the arc.
Thursday night's game was part of the WAC/Conference USA Alliance, which was established last season as a scheduling partnership between the two of the fastest rising conferences in NCAA Division I college basketball.
Also as part of the WAC/C-USA Alliance, Utah Tech will play host to UTEP inside the Burns Arena on Saturday, December 14.
Up next
Utah Tech returns home to host Stonehill College next Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 13. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 2 p.m. (MT).
