Utah Tech withstood a staunch Wolverine defense to come away with a gritty 65-54 home WAC victory over in-state foe Utah Valley in the latest installment of the "Old Hammer Rivalry" on Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Arena. 

How it happened 
Utah Tech (6-8/1-3 WAC) got off to a quick start offensively, knocking down four of its first six shots to bolt out to an 11-2 lead. Paige Cofer kickstarted the day with a 3-pointer, which was chased by a pair of Lauren Crocker perimeter jumpers and a Kaylee Borden bucket.
 
Utah Valley (9-7/2-3 WAC), which misfired on 10 of its first 13 shot attempts in the opening quarter, dialed it up on defense to trim the deficit to three at 13-10 with just under two minutes to play. 
 
However the Trailblazers scored the final five points of the frame, with Chardonnay Hartley providing the exclamation point with a 3-pointer to stake Utah Tech to an 18-10 advantage after 10 minutes complete.
 
Utah Tech saw its lead swell to nine points early in the second quarter, only to see Utah Valley's defense again bear down to keep the Blazers within reach. The Wolverines forced seven Blazer turnovers, which helped them to pull to within one point at 21-20 after a Tessa Chaney lay-in with 4:15 to play until halftime. 

Andjela Colic finally stopped the drought with her lone 3-pointer of the game. Calyn Dallas and Hartley followed with trifectas of their own, while Borden beat the halftime horn with a point-blank shot of a Hartley feed that sent Utah Tech to the locker room with a 32-25 halftime cushion. 
 
The Trailblazers kept the vibe going to begin the second half thanks to Crocker's third three-ball of the day, while two Dallas free throws stretched the lead to 12 at 37-25 with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
 
Unfortunately Utah Tech saw its momentum disappear as UVU's pressure defense forced eight Blazer miscues. The Wolverines capitalized with 11-unanswered points and would again pull to within one at 37-36 following a Kylee Mabry basket.
 
The Trailblazers, who bent several times but did not break, ended the UVU rally with a Merceius Mili three-point play, and headed to the fourth quarter clutching a 42-41 advantage.
 
Utah Valley eventually wrestled the lead away early in the final stanza and held a slim 50-49 cushion following two Amanda Barcello free throws with 4:39 remaining.
 
After both teams swapped empty possessions, Borden gave her side the lead right back with two charity tosses, while Crocker buried a straight-away 3-pointer with three minutes left to push it to a four-point advantage at 54-50.
 
Clinging to a 56-54 lead with under two minutes to go, Borden got free on the far wing for her lone 3-pointer of the day, which made it a five-point game with 1:28 remaining.
 
The Trailblazers then showed their resolve, flipping the script on UVU by holding the Wolverines scoreless and forcing three turnovers of their own the rest of the way.
 
Brie Crittendon went on to hit six-straight at the foul line in the closing moments to hammer home the dramatic win. 
 
Numbers to know
Borden scored nine of her team-high 14 points in the second half, and just missed her second double-double of the year by one board as she finished with a game-high nine rebounds.

Crocker enjoyed her finest shooting performance as a Trailblazer with a career-high 13 points on 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. 
 
Crocker, who was penciled into the starting line-up for just the second time this season, also responded with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in only 21 minutes of game action.
 
Hartley wound up with a WAC season-high 12 points along with six assists and four caroms, and Crittendon poured in nine points with five rebounds.
 
Utah Tech shot a season-high tying 45.2 percent (19-of-42) from the floor with a season-high 11 3-pointers (11-of-25; .440 – season-high). The Trailblazers also went 16-of-18 (.889) at the foul line, including a perfect 9-of-9 in the fourth quarter. 
 
In addition, Utah Tech won the battle of the board by a 33-17 count, and recorded 16 assists on its 19 made field goals. The Trailblazers also overcame a season-high 32 turnovers, 22 of which resulted in UVU steals. 
 
Mabry led all scorers with 16 points off the bench to pace Wolverines, while Barcello added 13 points. UVU connected on 38.0 percent (19-of-50) of its field goal attempts and went 5-of-18 (.278) from the perimeter. 
 
Up Next
Utah Tech will head out-of-state for just the second time this season next week with a trip to Texas for a pair of WAC games. The Trailblazers open the road swing on Thursday night at UT Arlington inside the College Park Center at 5:30 p.m. (MT).