Utah Tech Basketball: women fall to SUU for 2nd time, men drop 6th in a row

ST. GEORGE — The sequel wasn’t really that much different than the original.

Southern Utah defeated Utah Tech 61-52 in women’s basketball action at Burns Arena Thursday night, sweeping the in-state rivalry for the season after beating the Trailblazers 76-61 Dec. 29, 2022, in Cedar City.

“They were prepared with how we were going to defend tonight,” T-Birds coach Tracy Sanders told St. George News after watching her team improve to 10-7 overall and 6-o in the Western Athletic Conference. “They did a great job of slipping and we struggled a little bit with that initially.”

Southern Utah showed no signs of struggle at first, taking a 19-14 lead after the first quarter. But Utah Tech battled back in the second quarter.

Former Desert Hills state champion Sa’de Turlington put in some good minutes for Utah Tech. The freshman scored a driving layup and made two free throws right before halftime as the Trailblazers knotted the score 30-30.

Utah Tech’s Emily Isaacson battles through Southern Utah defenders Samantha Johnston (34) and Ashley Banks (13) in a WAC women’s basketball game, St. George, Utah, Jan. 19, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

But in the second half Utah Tech fell into a shooting slump and Southern Utah took advantage of its superior height at almost every position. 6-foot-5 Lizzy Williamson (18 points) and 6-foot-3 Megan Jensen (17 points) led the scoring for the winners.

Williamson was a force for SUU, putting up a double-double with 20 rebounds. She also had two blocks. Former Cedar High standout Samantha Johnston was strong for the T-Birds, posting six points and eight boards.

“Coming into the WAC, I think we are one of the taller teams,” Sanders said. “On the flip side, we’re defending on the perimeter and our posts have to step out there. We have to make sure we’re being effective on the offensive side and then doing a good job defending.”

Utah Tech was led by senior Breaunna Gillen and her 18-point effort. Emily Isaacson shot a 3-pointer to finish with nine points and Amber Kartchner also sank a 3-ball and totaled seven points in the setback for Utah Tech.

Those were the only two makes from distance as Utah Tech finished 2-for-29 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Overall the Trailblazers shot 20-for-64 from the field.

Southern Utah is at the top of the WAC standings at 6-0.

“This is a really good group. I think we have a lot of puzzle pieces,” Sanders said. “It was nice to get Tomekia Whitman back today to play for a little bit. We have to continue to get better. I don’t think we’ve seen our best yet. I’m proud of them for grinding out some wins, but I still think we have a lot of things that we can continue to improve on.”

Utah Tech fell to 12-6 overall and is 4-3 in WAC play. They next play Thursday, Jan. 26 versus Tarleton State at 7 p.m. in Burns Arena.

Grand Canyon 89, Utah Tech 85

In men’s action on the hardwood, the Trailblazers came up just short in a tough defeat on the road in Phoenix, Arizona, last Wednesday night.

According to a press release, Utah Tech saw three different players score at least 21 points in the tough loss.

Isaiah Pope led the way with 25 points, and Frank Staine and Tanner Christensen tossed in 21 points apiece to lead the Trailblazers. Jacob Nicolds finished with nine points.

The Lopes took a 41-37 lead into halftime. Then in the second half Staine hit his third 3-pointer of the game and Utah Tech trailed by one, 56-55.

Pope sank a 3-ball and Noa Gonsalves had a steal-and-score that later cut Grand Canyon’s lead to 85-81. Then Staine collected a loose ball, scored, and the Trailblazers were down 85-83 with 25 seconds left to play.

Pope’s basket again cut the deficit to two at 87-85 with 2.5 seconds on the clock.

Grand Canyon guard Ray Harrison sank two free throws to provide the final margin. Harrison led all scorers with a career-high 38 points in the victory, including a sizzling 7-for-9 performance from 3-point land.

The Trailblazers’ record dropped to 9-10 overall, 1-6 in the WAC, and the team has lost six straight games.

Utah Tech has a big home matchup Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Burns Arena against defending WAC champion New Mexico State. That game will stream live on The Fan Sports Network.

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