Utah Tech could not overcome a pair of third quarter scoring droughts as the Trailblazers were handed a 62-49 road loss at Southern Utah on Saturday afternoon at the America First Events Center. 

How it happened 
The Trailblazers (6-12/1-7 WAC) struggled out of the gate offensively, misfiring on their first nine shots, and found themselves in an early 8-1 hole.
 
Paige Cofer finally broke through with a 3-pointer near the five-minute mark of the first period. That bucket seemed to take the lid off the rim as Utah Tech drained four of its next six shots. 
 
Andjela Colic followed the Cofer trey with one of her own, while Cofer and Lauren Crocker both connected from the floor, to help pull the Blazers to within two at 15-13 after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Crocker kept the momentum going for Utah Tech to begin the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive possessions that spotted the Trailblazers with a 19-17 lead. 
 
However the Trailblazers could not find an answer for Southern Utah forward Brooklyn Fely, who scored six of her 14 first half points in the frame, as the Thunderbirds headed to the halftime break with a slim 25-23 cushion.
 
Utah Tech jumped back out in front early in the second half thanks to a Kaylee Borden 3-pointer, but again the Trailblazers went cold from the floor and went scoreless for nearly four minutes.
 
SUU (13-7/5-3 WAC) took full advantage, striking for eight unanswered points to again lead by seven at 34-27 following an Olivia Malafu jumper at the 4:41 mark of the third quarter.
 
Blazer reserve Calyn Dallas managed to stop that T-Bird run with consecutive 3-pointers, which trimmed the deficit to one at 34-33. 
 
However SUU closed the period with a 10-2 rally, with all 10 points coming at the foul line, and the Trailblazers went to the fourth quarter down 44-35. 
 
Like she did to start the second quarter, Crocker drained another 3-pointer, her third trifecta of the day to make it a two-possession, but SUU methodically pulled away from there to cinch away the home victory.
 
Numbers to know
Crocker paced the Blazers with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting and came within one rebound of her first collegiate double-double as she finished with a team-best nine boards.
 
Borden added 10 points, eight of which came after halftime, while Merceius Mili came off the bench to pour in a career-high eight points and pull down three rebounds.   
 
Utah Tech was held to a season-low 29.1 shooting percentage (16-of-55), which included an 8-of-27 (.296) clip from beyond the arc. The Blazers also went 9-of-13 (.692) and turned the ball over just 12 times. 
 
Fely led all scorers with 19 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Sierra Chambers netted 11 of her 15 points in the second half.
 
SUU connected on 20-of-59 (.339) of its field goal attempts and outrebounded Utah Tech by a 46-35 count, which included a decisive 26-12 rebounding edge in the second half.  
 
Up Next
Utah Tech returns home to host WAC favorite Abilene Christian next Thursday night, Jan. 29. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m. (MT).