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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Olivia Jones scored 28 points to lead Middle Tennessee as the Blue Raiders pulled away late to defeat Louisiana Tech 82-59 at the Murphy Center Saturday night.

Tech (8-8, 3-2 C-USA) trailed 60-52 with just under eight minutes to play before Jones hit back-to-back three-pointers as the Blue Raiders (10-5, 4-1 C-USA) finished the game on a 22-7 run to snap the Lady Techsters three-game winning streak.

"I thought MTSU did a great job of executing their stuff," said Tech head coach Tyler Summitt. "They really took us out of our stuff and did a great job pressuring the ball. Effort wise it was not bad except when a shooter gets hot we have to recognize that and get out and attack that shooter. I don't think we did that. I think we have to be better on shooters."

The Lady Techsters hurt themselves committing 23 turnovers, allowing 15 offensive rebounds and shooting only 30 percent from the field in the second half. Tech was also saddled with foul trouble for most of the night as Kevione Moten and Whitney Frazier both fouled out as the Lady Techsters were whistled for 27 fouls.

"I think we have to be smarter with our fouls, smarter with the loose balls we go for," Summitt said. "If I have a 50-50 chance for it, go for it. If I have a 10 percent chance at it and I have to push someone down to go for it, I might not go for it. That was a couple of Frazier's fouls. We have to be smarter with that. Fouling has been an issue for us. We have to learn how to play hard but play smarter."

After Middle Tennessee took an early 5-0 lead out of the gates, LA Tech answered as Brandi Wingate, Kevione Moten and JaQuan Jackson combined to score 17 points as the Lady Techsters built a 20-13 advantage with 11:32 to play in the first half. Jackson sparked the run scoring seven straight points in a span of 60 seconds.

Tech maintained an advantage, leading 29-26 after a Wingate jump shot with 3:09 to play in the first half. However, Middle Tennessee answered and China Dow's off-balance three-pointer banked home at the buzzer to give the Blue Raiders a 37-33 halftime advantage.

Middle Tennessee slowly extended the lead in the second half as Tech committed six turnovers in the first four minutes following the break. Another Dow three-pointer at the 13:45 mark upped the lead to 52-40.

"When they turn up their defensive pressure, we have to be able to handle that," Summitt said. "There was an obvious difference in MTSU's defensive pressure in the second half and we have to be able to recognize that and punish them if they are pressuring us that hard."

Tech made one final push. A Wingate three-pointer from the left wing with 7:44 to play closed the gap to 60-52. However, trailing by 10 with six minutes to play, Tech saw MTSU score 12 straight points to put the game away.

Wingate and Kelia Shelton led Tech with 14 points while Jackson added 11 points. Chrisstasia Walter added seven points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

"We have been proud of our bench all year," Summitt said. "We have to be more consistent from top to bottom as a team though. We have to come into every game and now exactly what we can expect from each player. It doesn't mean they have to come out here and shoot lights out, we just need to know what our role is and get that from them, especially when you are facing a good opponent like MTSU."

Despite the loss, Tech sits in a tie for third place in the Conference USA standings heading into Thursday night's home game against North Texas.

"We don't need to let the highs get too high and the lows get too low," Summitt said. "We will come back this week and get to work. To be a championship program which is what MTSU is, you have to play a 40 minute game. We have to figure that out. It can't be our downfall. There has to be something else that happens besides the lack of effort or the lack of decision making when we are out there. "