Behind a career-high 25 points from
Kaylee Borden, Utah Tech knocked off future Big Sky Conference foe Portland State, 71-63, on Saturday night inside the Burns Arena.
With the victory, the Trailblazers are off to a 3-1 start, which ties for the best record after four games in the program's brief NCAA Division I era (2022-23).
How it happened
Utah Tech led wire-to-wire, thanks in large part to a hot-shooting opening 10 minutes that saw the Trailblazers hit on 11 of their first 17 shots (.647) to race out to a 28-10 lead after one quarter complete.
The Blazers scored the game's first nine points and owned a 15-5 lead after the second of two Borden 3-pointers.
Borden later added a lay-in, which was followed by a
Calyn Dallas trey and consecutive
Maddie Warren breakaway lay-ups after
Chardonnay Hartley and
Andjela Colic steals that helped extend the lead to 19 at 26-7.
Portland State (1-4) managed to regroup in quarter number two, using a 13-3 run to cut the Blazer lead to single digits at 38-30 with 1:31 to play until halftime.
Borden scored Utah Tech's next four points to up the lead back to 12, but a Kyleigh Brown bucket just before the horn trimmed the Trailblazer advantage to 42-32 at the intermission.
The Vikings got off to a quick start to begin the second half thanks to a Brown three-point play, which spurred on a 9-2 spurt that made it a one-possession game at 44-41 with three-plus minutes gone in the third quarter.
Hartley quickly doubled the Blazer lead with a 3-pointer on Utah Tech's trip down the court.
Annalyse Shimada then split two free throws, and after a two Viking charity tosses, Utah Tech rattled off an 8-2 run to push the lead back to double figures at 56-45 following a
Paige Cofer jumper.
Clinging to a 56-50 lead heading to the final 10 minutes, Utah Tech opened the fourth quarter with an 11-5 to again lead by double digits at 67-55 after a
Brie Crittendon 3-pointer with 5:16 remaining.
Utah Tech did not see its lead dip below eight points the rest of the way as the Blazers notched their third-straight home victory.
Numbers to know
Borden scored 17 of her 25 points in the first half en route to her third 20-plus point game in four starts this season. The fifth-year guard went 9-of-16 from the floor and pulled down five rebound and dished out three assists in 36 minutes of action.
Crittendon finished with a season-high 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers of her own. Crittendon also stuffed the stat sheet with four boards, two assists, two steals and one block.
Meanwhile Cofer recorded her second career double-double with 10 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds. Cofer knocked down five of her seven shot attempts and tied a career high with two blocked shots.
Utah Tech shot 42.9 percent from the floor (27-of-63), which included an 8-of-28 clip (.286) from the perimeter. Utah Tech also went 9-of-13 (.692) from the foul line and outrebounded PSU 38-37.
The Blazer defense forced 19 Viking miscues and picked off a season-high tying 10 steals, including a season-best four by Warren.
Brown led all scorers with 26 points to lead three Vikings in double figures. Portland State hit on 38.3 percent (23-of-60) of its field goal attempts and was 2-of-7 (.286) from beyond the arc.
Up Next
Utah Tech will cross state lines for the first time this season this Tuesday night, Nov. 25, when the Trailblazers travel to the desert to square off against Big 12 member Arizona State. Tip-off inside Desert Financial Arena in Tempe is set for 6:30 p.m. (MT).
