Emily Isaacson led four Trailblazers in double figures with a game-high 19 points, but Utah Tech could not slow down a hot-shooting Abilene Christian side in dropping an 84-66 WAC road decision on Thursday night inside Moody Coliseum. 

How it happened 
The Trailblazers (5-16/1-7 WAC) found themselves in an early 16-9 hole six minutes into the action. However Isaacson led a Utah Tech rally by scoring seven of her nine first-quarter points over the final four minutes, which helped close the gap to 20-18 late frame.
 
The momentum the Blazers had generated was quickly dashed as ACU (14-9/3-5 WAC) ran off 11-straight points to turn a two-point game into a 31-18 Wildcat advantage with 6:40 to play until halftime.
 
Brie Crittendon managed to halt the run, albeit briefly, with a 3-pointer at the 6:17 mark, but Abilene Christian countered with seven-unanswered to cap an 18-3 run to extend to a 38-21 lead with 4:34 on the clock.
 
Isaacson buried a trey on Utah Tech's next possession, which was followed by a Crittendon bucket and two Mylee Graham free throws that trimmed the deficit to 10 points. 
 
But ACU closed the half with back-to-back trifectas from Erin Woodson and Bella Earle as the Wildcats retreated to their locker room with a 44-28 cushion at the intermission.
 
Utah Tech got off to a great start to begin the second half. Paige Cofer knocked down a clutch 3-point jumper just before the shot clock expired on the Blazers' opening possession. 
 
The freshman then picked off the first of her two second-half steals, which led to a Chardonnay Hartley transition bucket on the other end that cut the Wildcat lead to 44-33.
 
In fact, the Trailblazers knocked down their first seven shots out of the halftime break with four 3-pointers. 
 
Unfortunately Utah Tech could not make up ground as ACU managed to match the Blazers shot-for-shot. The Wildcats went 7-of-10 from the floor with four 3-pointers of their own over that stretch, and when the third-quarter horn sounded, the Trailblazers found themselves still down by 16 points at 67-51.
 
Utah Tech opened the final frame with a quick 7-0 spurt, thanks in large part to its defense. Isaacson got the Blazers going with a steal on ACU's first possession, which led to a Cofer lay-up and free throw.
 
Then after a Wildcat miss, Ellie Taylor spotted up from the top the 3-point arc and drained a straight-away trey. Hartley would later add a free throw after another ACU miscue, which pulled the Trailblazers to within nine at 67-58 with eight minutes remaining.
 
ACU countered with five-unanswered points, but Crittendon answered with her second 3-pointer of the night to make it an 72-61 game with 5:50 to go.
 
That would be as close as Utah Tech would get as ACU buried four 3-pointers as part of a 12-2 back-breaking run that ultimately sent the Trailblazers to their fifth-straight conference loss.
 
Numbers to know
Isaacson enjoyed another all-around good shooting night as the senior hit on 8-of-13 from the floor with three 3-pointers. The senior also led Utah Tech with five rebounds and tied a career high with six steals. 
 
Isaacson's (1,070 pts) 19 points also vaulted her into fourth place on Utah Tech's career scoring list, while her six steals moved her into a tie for fourth overall in career steals (120). 
 
Taylor recorded here sixth double-digit scoring effort in her last seven games overall with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers.
 
Crittendon also poured in 12 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals, while Cofer filled the stat sheet with 10 points, three boards, two assists and two steals. 
 
Meanwhile Hartley flirted with a triple-double as she finished with eight points, a game-high 10 assists, and a career-high seven steals.  
 
Hartley became just the eighth different player in Utah Tech's NCAA era to record at least seven steals, which also tied for the sixth-most in a single game in the program's four-year era.
 
Utah Tech lost despite forcing an opponent season-high 28 turnover, 21 of which were the result of steals. The Blazers' 21 steals were the most in the program's brief Division-I tenure, and tied for the seventh-most in a single game in Utah Tech's NCAA era overall.  
 
Despite their torrid third quarter, the Trailblazers wound up shooting 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor, including 9-of-24 (.375) from the perimeter. 
 
Troxell led four Wildcats in double figures with 19 points on a sizzling 7-of-10 shooting, including a 5-of-7 clip from beyond the arc. 
 
ACU knocked down an opponent-season high 16 3-pointers (16-of-33, .485) and shot an opponent season-high 58.5 percent (31-of-53) on the night. The Wildcats also outrebounded Utah Tech by a 38-22 count.

Up Next
Utah Tech will close out the month of February with five-straight games in the Beehive State, starting with a home showdown with in-state rival Southern Utah next Thursday night, Feb. 13. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m. (MT).