The Oregon Ducks (8-4) rode a four-game win streak into their matchup against the Utah Tech University Trailblazers (7-4) in the first game of the inaugural Trailblazer Classic at Burns Arena in Saint George, UT.
The first quarter started back-and-forth, with the Trailblazers taking a 13-8 lead at the halfway mark of the period. Utah Tech made all of its first three tries from deep, while Oregon struggled to move the ball and hit shots early.
As the Ducks got more into the game, the tempo pushed and the two teams began trading buckets after Utah Tech jumped out to a 23-15 lead.
This was then quickly brought back to 23-21 with two straight deep Chance Gray threes. After trading threes again late in the quarter, a Calyn Dallas deep buzzerbeater gave the Trailblazers a 29-24 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The subpar play in the first five minutes of the quarter were the main reason the Ducks fell behind, coupled with the incredible shooting from Utah Tech, who shot 7-9 from three in the first.
The Trailblazers ran an extremely aggressive 2-3 zone in order to limit the interior offense of bigger players like Phillipina Kyei and Grace VanSlooten. They trapped every time that the ball was fed into the paint and pushed the tempo in transition, which aided Utah Tech’s drive-and-kick play style.
In the last six minutes of the first half, Utah Tech went on a 17-4 run, which made it a 55-38 Trailblazers lead after two quarters.
The Trailblazers shot 12-15 from three (80%) in the first half, which prompted Oregon to shoot more threes, finishing 5-11. Oregon didn’t have a particularly bad half statistically, but the outstanding, efficient Utah Tech shooting made it impossible for the Ducks to stay in the game.
To start the second half, Oregon dropped back into the 2-3 zone to really force Utah Tech into shooting more from mid-range. This led to Utah Tech slowing the game down and wasting time.
The Trailblazers were able to figure out how to extend their possessions and find shots, even though they had most of their success pushing the pace in the first half.
Chance Gray started to catch fire late in the third, especially from deep, which energized the entire team to a 8-0 run to push the Trailblazers’ lead to seven.
Another Gray three as the quarter ended pushed the run to 11-1 and made the game 69-64 as the game entered the final frame. Oregon outscored Utah Tech 26-14 in the third, giving itself a strong chance to really fight for this game in the fourth.
Early in the quarter, Oregon switched to man-to-man defense, giving Utah Tech issues on offense. The Trailblazers became much more methodical on offense, so as the game got close, they were ensuring quality possessions.
Along with Gray, VanSlooten became a major factor in the fourth as she started to attack the basket more and score in any way she could. She finished with a season-high 25 points, along with nine rebounds and three blocks.
However, every time the Ducks would get within a few possessions, Utah Tech would hit a three and kill all of the momentum that they had built.
The Trailblazers stuck with their drive-and-kick game to counter the unstoppable offense from VanSlooten, and as the game entered crunch time, Utah Tech had all the control. Oregon started pressing the Trailblazers at full court, which gave the Ducks a quick turnover and three-pointer to make the game 89-86 with about 30 seconds left.
After a missed wide-open three from Priscilla Williams, the Ducks seemed to have their backs against the wall. But with 29 seconds left, Oregon forced a turnover off an inbounds pass and gave them a shot at a three pointer to tie the game.
The Ducks opted for a quick layup from VanSlooten, who had been successful all game at the rim, but she was blocked on this attempt. Utah Tech got the ball with 16 seconds left and a chance to end the game on free throws.
The Trailblazers converted on their free throws and closed out the game 92-86 behind a triple-double from fifth-year Breaunna Gillan with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and a 67% shooting night from deep.
