Utah Tech could not overcome a big UT Arlington fourth quarter as the Trailblazers saw their 2023-24 season come to an end in a 72-57 loss in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Hercules Tires WAC Tournament on Thursday afternoon in the Orleans Arena.
 
The Trailblazers close out the campaign with an 18-14 overall record. The 18 wins are the second-most in the program's fourth and final NCAA Division-I transitional season (19 wins in 2022-23). 

How it happened 
Utah Tech found itself in a 20-6 hole at the end of the first quarter, thanks in large part to UTA (17-15) post player Avery Brittingham, who scored 14 of the Lady Mavs' 20 points on 6-of-6 shooting.
 
However Trailblazers were able to flip the script in the second period, outscoring UTA 21-8 over the next 10 minutes to turn a possible lopsided game into a one-point deficit at the intermission.
 
The duo of Calyn Dallas (9 pts) and Alyson Deaver (7 pts) led the Blazer charge with 16 combined points, while Breaunna Gillen score five of Utah Tech's final eight points of the period, including a turnaround jumper in the lane just before the halftime buzzer to make a 28-27 game. 
 
Utah Tech maintained its momentum coming out of the locker room as the Blazers opened the third quarter with a 12-4 run to open up a seven-point lead at 39-32 at the 6:27 mark after two Deaver free throws.
 
Dallas accounted for five of those points, which included a 3-pointer, while Deaver hit a three of her own, which was her second of the game.
 
UTA clapped back with a 14-6 spurt to wrestle the lead back at 46-45 late in the frame, but Gillen gave Utah Tech lead back with another buzzer-beating turnaround bucket at the quarter horn as the Blazers led 47-46 heading to the fourth.
 
Utah Tech got off to a slow start offensively to begin the final stanza, scoring just four points over the six minutes, which allowed the Lady Mavs to open up a six-point advantage at 57-51 with just under four minutes to go.
 
Dallas knocked down a floater in the lane that drew the Trailblazers to within four, but the Lady Mavs rattled off nine-straight points to stretch their lead to 66-53 with 1:44 remaining.
 
UTA, which had misfired on its first 13 3-point attempts, would go on to hit dagger perimeter jumpers on consecutive possessions in the final moments to thwart any hope of a late Blazer rally.  
 
Numbers to know
Gillen finished with a co-team high 21 points, with 16 of those points coming in after halftime. The fifth-year senior went 6-of-17 from the floor, though she was 9-of-10 at the foul line, and finished with seven rebounds and four assists in her final game as a Trailblazer.
 
Gillen closed her storied career with as Utah Tech's all-time scoring (M/W – 1,608 pts) and assists (M/W – 555 assists) leader, and wound up ranked third all-time in program history in rebounding (607) and steals (132).
 
Dallas matched Gillen with 21 points, which was one off of her career high (22 pts vs. Bethesda – 12/16/23), on 9-of-17 shooting with three 3-pointers. The freshman also tallied three boards, one assist and one steal.
 
Deaver tied her career high with 14 points on 5-of-9 from the floor to go along with four caroms and two blocked shots.
 
Though she was held to just one point, fifth-year senior Maggie McCord led the Trailblazers with eight rebounds to go with a career-high tying four assists and a season-high tying three steals. 
 
McCord closed her brilliant Trailblazer career with 929 points (#6 all-time), 524 rebounds (#4 all-time) and 200 made 3-pointers (#2 all-time). 
 
Utah Tech shot 35.7 percent from the floor (20-of-56), and was 5-of-22 (.227) from the perimeter. The Trailblazers also went 12-of-14 (.857) at the line and tallied seven blocked shots, including a career-high three blocks for Catelyn Deaver.
 
Brittingham led all scorers with 27 points on 12-of-21 shooting and had 15 rebounds. UTA went 33-of-69 (.478) from the floor and outrebounded Utah Tech 39-35.