Utah Tech could not overcome a slow start offensively as the Trailblazers dropped a 76-60 road decision at Tarleton State on Thursday night at the Wisdom Gymnasium. 

How it happened 
The Trailblazers (16-12/10-7 WAC) found themselves in a 21-12 hole at the conclusion of the first quarter after misfiring on 12 of their 17 shot attempts, including an 0-of-7 clip from the perimeter.
 
Meanwhile TSU (8-18/5-12 WAC) went 8-of-16 from the floor and hit on four of its six from beyond the arc to race out to the commanding lead.
 
Utah Tech managed to flip the script in the second quarter as the Blazers drained eight of their 12 attempts with four 3-pointers to come all the way back to take a 33-32 lead on the second of back-to-back Maddie Warren buckets with 34 seconds to play until halftime.
 
However Texan post player Faith Acker would net a put back and the buzzer to stake her side a 34-33 advantage at the intermission.
 
The two sides traded baskets to start the second half, but Utah Tech did not have an answer for Acker, who tallied 10 of her 16 points on the night in the third quarter, as the Texans led 52-44 heading to the fourth. 
 
Breaunna Gillen would draw the Utah Tech to within six with leaner in the paint to begin the final frame, and the Trailblazers found themselves down seven at 62-55 following a Maggie McCord lay-in with just over four minutes to go.
 
But that would be as close as the Blazers would get as Elise Turrubiates converted the first of her two conventional three-point plays on the Texans' next possession. Tyler Jackson followed that up with a dagger 3-pointer with 2:42 remaining and Tarleton cruised from there for the home win. 
 
Numbers to know
Gillen led three Trailblazers in double figures with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The fifth-year senior also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and dished out a game-high seven assists. 
 
Warren added 15 points on 5-of-11 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and five boards, and McCord hit on six of her 11 shot attempts en route to 14 points.  
 
The Trailblazers connected on 22-of-50 (.440) from the floor, though they were just 6-of-23 (.261) from the perimeter. Utah Tech struggled at the foul line, going 10-of-19 (.526) at the stripe, and were hampered by 12 turnovers, which led to 20 Tarleton points. 
 
Turrubiates led all scorers with 22 points, while Acker racked up a game-high 11 rebounds to go with her 16 points. Tarleton shot 44.8 percent (30-of-67) for the game, 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from the beyond the arc, and outrebounded Utah Tech 39-30.  
 
Up next
Utah Tech wraps up its 2023-24 regular season road slate with a Saturday date at Abilene Christian. Tip-off inside Moody Coliseum is set for 1 p.m. (CT).