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BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky - Louisiana Tech head coach Tyler Summitt has been preaching 40 minutes of basketball since he stepped foot on the campus back in April.

And after playing the top two teams in Conference USA on the road the past three weeks, his team found out exactly why.

On Thursday night at E.A. Diddle Arena, Summitt and Co. played toe-to-toe with WKU, leading 51-49 with 11 minutes to play. Twenty-nine minutes wasn't nearly enough.

WKU shot a blistering 83 percent from the field in the second half, hitting 19-of-23 field goals, and used a 14-0 run over a five-minute span to down Louisiana Tech 82-66 before 3,144 fans in the 41st meeting all-time between the two programs.

"WKU did a great job executing in second half," Summitt said. "They weren't fazed when we were up one at halftime or up two with 11 minutes left. They kept running their stuff, and they executed. When someone hits a couple of shots on you then you have to buckle down and play harder. We did not do that. We started playing less hard. That was the big thing in the locker room after the game. There came a crunch time, and we didn't respond. It's the exact same thing that happened at Middle Tennessee. These games were very similar. Both times the bottom fell out."

Two weeks ago, LA Tech trailed Middle Tennessee by six points with seven minutes to play before watching the Blue Raiders - who are tied with WKU for first place in Conference USA - go on a 22-5 run to close the game. It was just another example of the results when LA Tech doesn't play at the level needed for 40 minutes.

"Both ends (of the court) influenced each other," Summitt said. "We didn't do a good job of executing our stuff on offense. We had too many turnovers at crucial times. If we are going to be a championship team, we can't do this. If we just want to be third or fourth or fifth place in the conference, then fine. We cannot pay attention for five minutes and dig ourselves a hole. But if we want to be a championship team, that entire time you have to be focused and when the other team hits you, you have to respond."

Early it looked like LA Tech (10-9, 5-3 C-USA) was in for a long night. WKU jumped out to an 18-9 lead as the Lady Techsters missed point blank shot after point blank shot. However, LA Tech righted the ship behind the play of Kevione Moten. The 6-foot-4-inch sophomore came off the bench and presented match-up issues inside, preventing WKU from having its way in the paint.

Moten recorded her third double double of the season, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Whitney Frazier led Tech with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Brandi Wingate added 12 points and five rebounds. JaQuan Jackson chipped in with 11 points and four assists as Tech shot 45 percent (30-67) from the field.

Tech led 33-32 at the half and upped the advantage to as many as five in the second half. The game saw 12 lead changes and six ties.

However, it couldn't offset WKU shooting 61 percent (31-51) from the field for the game, including a 50-point second half explosion.

"I thought Kev did a terrific job," Summitt said. "I thought she played hard. I thought she had a couple of silly fouls that hurt. I thought Whitney Frazier played hard. She got fatigued a couple of times, but she played hard. Kanedria Andrews on defense played hard. But after that there isn't a consistency there. Although a couple of people shot well, you have to get stops on the defensive end. For them to shoot 83 percent in second half ... that's tough to do when you are playing five on zero and there is no defense out there. We obviously were not doing a good job."

Tech outrebounded WKU 35-29, including pulling down 18 offensive rebounds in the game. The Lady Techsters also recorded 20 assists on 30 made field goals. Tech's bench outscored WKU's bench 35-11.

"We see flashes of how good this team can be," Summitt said. "Wow, Kelia Shelton is really good at Mississippi State. Wow, Chrisstasia Walter is really good against Rice. Oh my gosh, Kev Moten. Oh my gosh, Brandi Wignate took over at UAB. There are oh-my-gosh moments, but then there are these moments where there is five minute stretch where we aren't focused. I agree we do a lot of good things, but to be a championship team, its 40 minutes. We played about a 30-minute game tonight."

Chastity Gooch led WKU with 24 points while Alexis Govan added 21 points and Kendall Noble 11 points.

Tech returns to action Saturday when the Lady Techsters travel to Huntington, West Virginia to face Marshall. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT.

"We have to learn from this," Summitt said. "Marshall has a lot of good players back. They have a good system and a good coach. We have to refocus and learn from this. We can preach that it takes a 40 minute game to beat the best in this league. Now our players have seen it. If we play a 30-minute or 35-minute game, we won't be there at the end. It's a matter if we can figure it out, especially these five seniors. Can we play a 40-minute game when we need it."