Despite a season-high 18 points from Paige Cofer, Utah Tech could not overcome a big second-half Thunderbird run as the Trailblazers dropped their 2025-26 Western Athletic Conference opener at Southern Utah, 78-60, on Tuesday night at the America First Events Center in Cedar City. 

How it happened 
The Trailblazers (5-6/0-1 WAC) got off to a great start, jumping out to an early 17-5 lead thanks in large part to a 4-of-5 effort from beyond the arc, including a pair of Cofer 3-pointers that bolstered a 14-0 run. 
 
Utah Tech led by seven after the opening 10 minutes and enjoyed a 26-16 cushion following a Lauren Crocker trey in the early moments of the second quarter. 
 
However Southern Utah (9-4/1-0 WAC) countered with a eight-unanswered points over a two-minute span to cut the deficit to 26-24 after two Sierra Chambers free throws.
 
The Blazers clapped right back with two Chardonnay Hartley charity tosses and five more points from Cofer, as Utah Tech upped its lead to seven at 33-26 after the sophomore's third trifecta of the game with 5:48 remaining in the first half.  
 
Utah Tech managed to maintain a two-possession advantage until a late Thunderbird flourish trimmed the Trailblazers' lead down to single point at 39-38 at the halftime break.
 
Southern Utah flipped the first-quarter script on the Trailblazers to open the second half as the T-Birds rattled off a 17-2 run to open up their biggest lead of the night at 55-41 with five-plus minutes gone in the third quarter. 
 
Hartley finally stopped the run with two of her 14 points in the game to pull the Blazers to within 12 at the 3:45 mark of the third. 
 
Unfortunately that would be as close as Utah Tech would get as SUU cruised on from there to salt away the first of three WAC meetings between the two sides this season.  
 
Numbers to know
Cofer scored 11 of her 18 points in the first half. The sophomore's three 3-pointers (3-of-7) were also a season high, while she added five rebounds to her final stat line.  
 
Hartley knocked down four of her nine shots and went 6-of-10 from the foul line en route to her fifth double-digit point effort of the season. Hartley also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists. 
 
Meanwhile Kaylee Borden poured in 11 points and tied her collegiate career high with five assists. 
 
Crocker, who was penciled into the starting line-up for the first time as a Trailblazer, responded with six points and a season-high tying nine rebounds. 
 
Crocker also collected two blocked shots to up her team-lead to 20, and her Utah Tech career total to 34, which pulled her into a tie for 10^th-place on the program's career blocks list.  
 
Utah Tech shot 41.2 percent from the floor (21-of-51), which included 9-of-15 (.600) clip in the first quarter. The Blazers also went 7-of-23 (.304) from the perimeter, though they only hit on 11-of-19 (.579) at the foul line. 
 
Chambers led all scorers with 19 points, while Brooklyn Fely (14 p/12 r) and Ava Uhrich (10 p/11 r) both posted double-doubles.
 
SUU connected on 27-of-76 (.355) of its field goal attempts with seven 3-pointers (7-of-20), and outrebounded Utah Tech by a 56-31 count, which included a decisive 25-2 edge on the offensive glass.  
 
Up Next
Utah Tech kicks off the 2026 calendar year with a New Year's Day home matinee against preseason WAC favorite Abilene Christian. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 2 p.m. (MT).