Utah Tech was not able to survive a late Southern Utah rally as the Trailblazers were handed a dramatic 69-66 home loss on Thursday night inside the Burns Arena. 

How it happened 
The Trailblazers (5-17/1-8 WAC) shook off a slow offensive start with 10-straight points, which turned an early 5-1 deficit into an 11-5 advantage after a Mylee Graham steal and Chardonnay Hartley bucket at the three-minute mark of the opening stanza.
 
Utah Tech was held without a field goal for the first four-plus minutes before Ellie Taylor broke the drought with a transition lay-in off a long Hartley pass.
 
Taylor scored the first five points in the run, while Emily Isaacson drained the first of her two first half 3-pointers before the Hartley basket.
 
The Blazers enjoyed a 16-10 cushion at the quarter break, and saw that lead swell to eight after a Taylor drive and score to open the second period.
 
SUU (5-19/3-8 WAC) guard Daylani Ballena countered with five-unanswered points, only to see Utah Tech answer with perimeter jumpers from Aaliyah Ibarra and Makeili Ika to extend to a 24-17 lead with just over six minutes to play until halftime.
 
Isaacson would later hit the third of Utah Tech's four second-quarter treys, but the Trailblazers could not put any more distance between themselves their in-state rivals as they retreated to the locker room with a 32-28 in tow.
 
Utah Tech struck fast with six-straight points to begin the second half, all of which were scored in the painted area, as the Blazers bolted out to their biggest lead of the night at 38-28 just 79 seconds into play.
 
The Thunderbirds quickly answered with six points of their own in less than a minute to again make a two-possession game.
 
Utah Tech managed to keep SUU at bay, though the Trailblazers did see their lead trimmed to 53-51 after an Ava Uhrich 3-pointer with 7:16 remaining in the game.
 
The Blazers clapped back with a Brie Crittendon lay-in and extended back to a three-possession game following a Paige Cofer 3-pointer with 5:13 left.
 
However Utah Tech could not deliver the knockout blow as Southern Utah rattled off a 9-2 rally to tie the game at 60-60 after a Uhrich free throw with 1:20 to go.
 
Taylor answered on the Blazers' next possession when she backed down her defender and banked in the go-ahead bucket.
 
Southern Utah countered in its ensuing possession with a Samantha Johnston 3-pointer, which gave the T-Birds their first lead since the midway point of the opening frame.
 
Taylor put the Trailblazers back on top with a driving lay-in with 36 seconds remaining, and Utah Tech forced an SUU miss on a Uhrich perimeter jumper with under 20 seconds to go.
 
Unfortunately the Blazers the ball caromed off the rim to Uhrich's teammate Lexi Bull, who scored on the putback to give SUU the lead back at 65-64 with 11 seconds left.
 
Utah Tech put the ball back into Taylor's hands, and she drove the lane and drew a foul with 5.8 seconds showing on the clock.
 
Taylor knocked down both free throws, but Utah Tech was called for a foul before SUU could inbound the ball out of a timeout.
 
After two Ballena free throws put SUU back up one, Utah Tech called its final timeout to draw up a final play. Taylor took the inbounds pass and drove the baseline, but she could not get her jumper to go down. 
 
SUU cleared the rebound and Johnston iced the game with two free throws with under one second left as the T-Birds escaped with the road win. 
 
Numbers to know
Taylor led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Taylor's 21 points were one off of her career high of 22 she posted last month at Tarleton State (1/11/25).
 
Isaacson wound up with eight points and a career-high tying three blocks, while Cofer, Graham and Ika all finished with six points apiece.  
 
Utah Tech shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the floor, which included an 8-of-21 (.381) effort from the perimeter. The Trailblazers also went 14-of-21 (.667) at the foul line and tied a season high with six blocked shots.
 
Ballena led three T-Birds in double figures with 18 points, while Uhrich scored all 14 of her points after halftime. 
 
SUU wound up nearly matching Utah Tech in nearly all statistical categories as the Thunderbirds connected on 41.4 percent (24-of-58) of their shot attempts. SUU also went 8-of-24 (.333) from beyond the arc and 13-of-21 (.619) at the charity stripe.
 
However Southern Utah won the rebounding battle, 41-33, including a 17-11 clip on the offensive glass, which helped the T-Birds outscore Utah Tech by an 18-9 count in second chance points. 

Up Next
Utah Tech continues its homestand with a Saturday matinee against long-time conference rival California Baptist. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 2 p.m. (MT).