Despite a game and career-high 23 points from Brie Crittendon, Utah Tech dropped a heartbreaking 84-78 double-overtime thriller at UT Arlington on Thursday night inside the College Park Center.  

How it happened 
Utah Tech (6-15/1-10 WAC) got off to a great start offensively thanks to the senior guard tandem of Kaylee Borden (8 pts) and Crittendon (5 pts), who combined to score the Trailblazers' first 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting as they jumped out to an early 13-6 lead. 
 
The Blazers enjoyed a 20-17 cushion after one quarter complete, but UT Arlington (9-13/3-7 WAC) started the second period with an 8-3 spurt to take its first lead of the night at 25-23.
 
Calyn Dallas, who hit a 3-pointer earlier in the stanza, briefly quelled the run with another perimeter jumper, but the Lady Mavs wound up outscoring Utah Tech 16-9 in the period en route to a 33-29 halftime advantage.
 
Trailing 39-31 in the moments of the third quarter, the Utah Tech offense came back to life, outscoring UTA 14-2 to wrestle the lead away at 45-41 after a Crittendon lay-in with just under four minutes to play in the frame.
 
Paige Cofer got the rally going with a bucket, while Crittendon, Borden and Dallas all hit from beyond the arc.
 
While the Blazer offense was doing its thing, Utah Tech's defense stepped up to force five Lady Mav miscues over that stretch. 
 
The two sides then see-sawed back and forth the rest of the quarter, which ended with Utah Tech down by a 53-52 count.
 
Crittendon quickly gave Utah Tech the lead back with a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but the Blazers could not build onto its lead as they misfired on their next seven shots.
 
Luckily for the Trailblazers, UT Arlington did not fare any better as the Lady Mavs only managed four points over a near six-minute stretch to begin the final period.
 
Utah Tech wrestled the lead back at 59-58 after a Chardonnay Hartley jumper at the 4:12 mark, and clung to a 63-60 advantage after two Lauren Crocker free throws with 31.3 seconds remaining.
 
UTA trimmed the deficit to two at the foul line on its next trip down the court, and after Utah Tech called its final timeout with 23.9 seconds left, the Trailblazers committed a turnover right in front of their bench.
 
Utah Tech's coaching staff requested an official's review of the play, and ultimately lost the challenge, which led to a technical foul since the Blazers were out of timeouts.
 
UT Arlington split the technical free throws, and Jadyn Atchison put the Lady Mavs back on top at 65-63 with a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left.
 
Crittendon took the inbounds pass and immediately drew a foul with 2.5 seconds left. The redshirt senior calmly went to the line and sank both free throws to tie the game at 65-65. UTA's desperation shot at the buzzer caromed away and the game went to overtime.
 
In the first overtime period, both Hartley and Crittendon converted conventional three-point plays, with the later spotting Utah Tech with a 72-70 lead with just over one minute to play.
 
Lady Mav post player Kira Reynolds pulled her side even with two free throws with 50.1 seconds left, only to see Crittendon match that with two charity tosses of her own with 25.3 seconds remaining to give Utah Tech the lead right back.
 
Then with 10.5 seconds left, UTA guard Nya Threatt buried a mid-range jumper from 17-feet out to again tie the game at 74-74.
 
Utah Tech had a great look to win the game out of a timeout, but Crittendon's straight-away 3-pointer rattled off the rim, and both teams moved on to another extra period. 
 
Unfortunately Utah Tech ran out of gas in the second overtime session, during which the Trailblazers were held without a made field goal as UTA outscored them 10-4 to escape with the home victory. 
 
Numbers to know
Thursday's result marked the first time in the program's NCAA Division I era that the Trailblazers played in a double-overtime game. Back in the 2012-13 season, Utah Tech dropped a 73-71 double-OT home decision to Grand Canyon (1/10/13) when both teams were members of the Pacific West Conference.  
 
Crittendon's 23 points eclipsed her previous career high of 19 points she recorded during her sophomore year at Eastern Kentucky (12/6/23). The redshirt senior guard finished with three 3-pointers and went 8-of-9 at the foul line. 
 
Borden wound up with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists before she fouled out in the final moments of the fourth quarter.
 
Meanwhile Hartley just missed notching her first double-double of the season as she poured 12 points, all of which came in the second half and overtime, to go with a season-high nine assists. 
 
Hartley's nine assists also pushed her over the 300-career assist mark (301) at Utah Tech. 
 
Cofer also flirted with a double-double, going for six points and a career-high 13 rebounds. 
 
Utah Tech shot 33.3 percent (23-of-69) from the floor, which included a 10-of-37 (.270) effort from the perimeter. The Trailblazers also went 22-of-28 (.786) at the foul line, and recorded 15 assists on their 23 made field goals.
 
Reynolds led four Lady Mavs in double figures with 20 points off the bench. UTA connected on 40.5 percent (32-of-79) of its field goal attempts and outrebounded Utah Tech by a 55-43 count. 
 
Up Next
Utah Tech will enjoy a week off before traveling north to Orem for an "Old Hammer Rivalry" showdown at Utah Valley. Tip-off inside Lockhart Arena is set for 6 p.m. (MT).