ST. GEORGE — The Trailblazers said thank you to two of their best on Saturday afternoon at Burns Arena.
The Utah Tech women’s basketball team ended its Western Athletic Conference season with a gutsy 69-61 win over Stephen F. Austin.
It was the first time in five tries that Utah Tech beat the Lady Jacks.
“We competed hard. The team knows we’re playing for something,” Utah Tech associate head coach Matt Thune told St. George News.
Utah Tech senior Breaunna Gillen scored 16 points in a WAC women’s basketball game against Stephen F. Austin, St. George, Utah, March 9, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Utah Tech seniors Breaunna Gillen and Maggie McCord had friends and family in the stands as the duo played their last collegiate game at Burns Arena.
“Our kids have been amped up,” Thune added. “They want to play for those two, they’ve been huge leaders for our team so they were going to do anything to support them.”
Gillen and McCord are leaders on and off the court and the Trailblazers follow where they go.
“They’re all very close. Our team knows what they have done for the program,” Thune said. “Maggie is one of the toughest, one of the best, players to ever play here. Breaunna, obviously, with everything she’s done, maybe goes down as the best player ever to play here.”
“They want to show up and let them go out with a bang,” he added. “They’re doing everything they can.”
The Lady Jacks took a 16-14 lead after one quarter but the home team rallied in the second session to take a 34-28 lead into halftime.
Points did not come easy as SFA sank 20-of-70 field goals from the floor. Utah Tech finished with a 21-of-55 shooting mark in the game. The difference came from 3-point land as the Trailblazers held the visitors to 7-of-29 shooting from behind the arc.
Utah Tech, meanwhile, sank 13 of their 29 3-point attempts.
Freshman Calyn Dallas led the way from downtown for the Trailblazers, canning 5-of-6 3’s including three long shots during a critical stretch in the third quarter.
“She’s a really good shooter,” Thune said about Dallas, who scored a team-high 19 points in the win. “And this is huge. She’s bought into trying and trying and trying. She works out and watches film and puts in the extra time.”
“So to see her come out and make a big impact is awesome,” he added. “One thing I know about Calyn is that she wanted to do it so bad for Maggie and Breaunna.”
Gillen finished with 16 more points added to her career total, which is the all-time best at Utah Tech.
Utah Tech senior Maggie McCord looks to pass in a WAC women’s basketball game against Stephen F. Austin, St. George, Utah, March 9, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
McCord finished with 13 points in the victory including four 3-pointers.
Kurstyn Harden was a force in the paint for SFA (20-11 overall, 14-6 WAC), scoring a game-high 24 points. Kyla Deck was next for the Lady Jacks with 15 points.
Utah Tech improved to finish the season at 18-13 overall with a 12-8 mark in the conference standings.
The Trailblazers will wait to see who they play first in the WAC postseason tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, scheduled for March 13-16.
“Our kids are locked in on everything we need to do each day,” Thune said. “But through the season we’ve battled a lot of adversity with injuries to players.”
Utah Tech fans held their collective breath when Maddie Warren was helped off the court in the third quarter. She returned to the bench minutes later with an ice bag taped to her knee but did not play again in the contest.
“That can rattle a lot of teams, especially there in the second half when it got chippy,” Thune said. “But our kids were resilient, they didn’t let it affect them, and they were still able to pull it out.”
Curtain closes on men
In Nacogdoches, Texas on Saturday, the Utah Tech men’s team saw its playoff hopes — and its season end — after an 84-71 defeat against Stephen F. Austin.
The home team led 34-23 at halftime and closed out the win with strong defense in the second half.
Jaylen Searles came off the bench to score a team-high 19 for Utah Tech and Noa Gonsalves netted 10 for the Trailblazers but no other player recorded double-digit scoring.
Nana Antwi-Boasiako led all players in the game with 30 points for the Lumberjacks. Latrell Jossell contributed 20 points for the winners.
Turnovers, Utah Tech’s Achilles heel all year, played a role again as the Lumberjacks scored 18 points directly off of 19 Trailblazer cough ups.
Utah Tech finished the season with a record of 11-20, including a 7-13 mark in the WAC standings.
The Trailblazers finished ninth in the 11-team conference, one game away from earning a berth in the WAC postseason tournament.
Photo Gallery
Utah Tech’s Catelyn Deaver drives in a WAC women’s basketball game against Stephen F. Austin, St. George, Utah, March 9, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Utah Tech senior Maggie McCord looks to pass in a WAC women’s basketball game against Stephen F. Austin, St. George, Utah, March 9, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Utah Tech freshman Calyn Dallas scored a team-high 19 points in a WAC women’s basketball game against Stephen F. Austin, St. George, Utah, March 9, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Utah Tech senior Breaunna Gillen scored 16 points in a WAC women’s basketball game against Stephen F. Austin, St. George, Utah, March 9, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Utah Tech’s Maddie Warren passes in a WAC women’s basketball game against Stephen F. Austin, St. George, Utah, March 9, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
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