Utah Tech closed out its 2023-24 road slate on the short end of a 74-62 decision at Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon in Moody Coliseum.

How it happened 
The Wildcats pounced on Utah Tech (16-13/10-8 WAC) from the get-go, outscoring the Trailblazers 17-4 over the first six-plus minutes of opening quarter.
 
Utah Tech misfired on eight of its first 10 shots, including six from beyond the arc, while ACU (13-14/9-9 WAC) knocked down three 3-pointers en route to its early advantage.
 
Breaunna Gillen finally stopped the run with six-straight points, and Catelyn Deaver would hit the Blazers' first perimeter jumper with 17 seconds to play in the period to cut the deficit to 19-13.
 
The Trailblazers maintained their momentum early on the second frame, thanks to five quick points from Alyson Deaver, as Utah Tech completely erased the Wildcat lead with an 8-1 spurt to take a 21-20 lead after two Gillen free throws with 5:41 to go until halftime.
 
Unfortunately that Utah Tech lead would be short-lived as ACU scored 13 of the game's next 14 points, with 12 of those points coming on four made 3-pointers. The Wildcats wound up outscoring the Blazers 22-7 to close out the stanza and retreated to the locker room with a comfortable 42-28 advantage at the intermission. 
 
After ACU guard Zoe Jackson opened the second half with another Wildcat trey, Utah Tech rattled off nine-straight points, including five from Maddie Warren, to pull to within eight at 45-37 with two minutes gone in the third quarter.
 
That would be as close as the Trailblazers would get as ACU put the game away with a decisive 15-4 run to extend to a 60-41 lead with three-plus minutes remaining in the frame. ACU nursed its double-digit cushion the rest way to claim the home victory and a WAC postseason tournament berth.
 
Numbers to know
Gillen led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and led the Blazers with five rebounds, three assists and a game-high four steals.
 
Meanwhile Warren scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and finished with three boards and two steals.
 
Maggie McCord just missed double figures as she tallied eight points. McCord (503) also grabbed five rebounds to become the fourth player in program history with 500 career rebounds. 
 
The Trailblazers hit of 23-of-59 (.390) from the floor, but were just 5-of-29 (.172) from beyond the arc.
 
Payton Hull led five Wildcat players in double figures with 16 points, 15 of which came on 5-of-13 from the perimeter. 
 
ACU wound up with 12 made 3-pointers (12-of-41, .293) on the day and shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) from the floor overall. The Wildcats also outrebounded Utah Tech 50-30, including a 15-3 clip on the offensive glass.
 
Up next
Utah Tech will wrap up 2023-24 regular season with a pair of home games next week, beginning with a Thursday night match-up vs. UTRGV. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m. (MST).