Despite a career-high 22 points from Ellie Taylor and a season-best 21 points from Emily Isaacson, Utah Tech could not pick up its first WAC win of the season as the Trailblazers dropped a hard-fought 74-65 road loss at Tarleton State on Saturday afternoon at Wisdom Gym. 

How it happened 
The Trailblazers (4-11/0-2 WAC) had their zone defense caused the Texans trouble in the early going, limiting Tarleton State to 2-of-11 from the floor and forcing seven Texan turnovers.
 
Utah Tech turned that defense into offense, scoring 13 of its first 15 points off of those Texan miscues. 
 
Isaacson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, while the freshman duo of Taylor (5 pts) and Paige Cofer (4 pts) combined for nine points, as the Blazers owned a 15-6 advantage with seven minutes gone by in the opening quarter.
 
Unfortunately the Trailblazers were not maintain their pace on offense as the team combined to misfire on 14 of its next 17 shots, including an 0-for-8 start to begin the second period.
 
Tarleton State (11-7/2-1 WAC) did not fair much better as the Texans went 1-of-8 from the floor to start the second quarter, though they did manage to trim the Blazer lead to 17-14 in the early moments of the stanza.
 
That all changed with 5:15 to play until halftime when Niki Van Wyk hit the first of her three second quarter 3-pointers, which kickstarted a 19-5 Texan run that erased the deficit and gave Tarleton a 33-22 lead with under one minute to play in the half.
 
Aaliyah Ibarra finally ended the drought with a 3-pointer on the closing seconds of the frame as Utah Tech retreated to the locker room trailing by a 33-25 count.
 
Utah Tech shot out of the gates to begin the second half, knocking down seven of its first 12 shots with three 3-pointers. Isaacson tallied seven quick points, while Chardonnay Hartley and Taylor each hit from downtown. 
 
However the Texans matched the Trailblazers shot for shot, thanks in large part to guard Jakoriah Long, who hit three 3-pointers of her own over a six-plus minute stretch, the last of which extended the TSU lead to 53-42 with 3:23 to play in the third quarter.
 
Tarleton State never saw its lead dip below seven points the rest of the way as Utah Tech saw its winless streak reach seven-straight games.

Numbers to know
Isaacson enjoyed one of her best shooting performances of her collegiate career as the senior hit on 8-of-11 from the floor, including a 5-of-6 clip from beyond the arc. Her eight made field goals were also a season high, while her five 3-pointers was one off her season high and two shy of tying her career high (7 vs. NM State; 2/17/21).

Meanwhile Taylor knocked down seven of her 15 shots with three 3-pointers and went 5-of-6 at the foul line on her way to her first collegiate 20-point game. In addition, the freshman picked off a career-best four steals and tied a career high with two blocked shots.
 
Hartley just missed her fourth double-double of the year as she finished with nine points and a game-high seven assists.  
 
Utah Tech posted its second-best overall shooting effort of the season as the Blazers shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) for the game, which included an 11-of-24 clip (.458) from the perimeter. 

Tarleton State, which had entered the game averaging only 4.5 made 3-pointers and 17 3-point attempts on the year, knocked down a season-high 12 trifectas (12-of-31; .387), and wound up 28-of-73 (.384) from the floor overall.
 
The Texans also outrebounded Utah Tech by a decisive 51-27 count, including a 26-9 count on the offensive glass, which resulted in 22 second-chance points (22-5). 

Van Wyk led four Texans in double figures with 17 points on 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, while Long finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. 
 
Up Next
Utah Tech will play four of its next five WAC games at home, starting with a Thursday night date vs. Seattle U in the Burns Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. (MT).