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LAFAYETTE, La. - After trailing by as much as 22 in the third quarter, Louisiana Tech (5-6) used a 15-0 run to get as close as four in the fourth quarter, but ultimately, it was too little too late as the Lady Techsters fell to UL-Lafayette, 80-72 on Thursday night in Lafayette.

Things did not start well in the first ten minutes for the Lady Techsters on Thursday night and things got worse before they got better. With the game tied at 10-10, the Ragin Cajuns used a 13-0 run to go ahead 23-10. At the end of the first period, Lafayette held a 27-13 lead over Louisiana Tech.

The Lady Techsters would trail by double digits for the entirety of the second quarter, with Lafayette taking a 44-27 lead into the locker room at the half.

In the third quarter, the Ragin Cajuns would stretch their lead out to as much as 22 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. With 22 seconds remaining in that third quarter, Lafayette held a 64-45 lead over Louisiana Tech.

"I think it was all on the defensive end of the floor," Stoehr said. "We gave up too many easy baskets in the first three quarters."

That is when the light came on for Stoehr's Lady Techsters. When LA Tech took the court in the fourth quarter, it was not a defeated group, but a hungry one, fighting to get back into the ball game.

The Techsters would score the next 15 points in the contest, cutting the Lafayette lead down to 64-60 with just under six minutes left in the game.

"We found a group that finally, just started playing hard," Stoehr commented on the 15-0 run. "It is not a group that we normally play together and I would not normally call Anna [McLeod] or [Ashley] Santos two of our better defenders. Their energy was really good. It starts in practice and both of them had really good days yesterday."

Louisiana Tech had multiple chances to cut the deficit to two but could not get a shot to fall, with the Cajuns eventually using a 7-0 run to extend their lead back to double figures.

A large reason for the comeback was a 16-3 rebounding advantage in the fourth quarter alone for the Lady Techsters.

Time was not on the Lady Techsters' side to overcome another double-digit deficit as Lafayette would hang on to escape with an 80-72 win.

Louisiana Tech was led by Alexus Malone who dropped a career-high 22 points in the loss, while Kierra Anthony added 15 points of her own. Malone and Anthony were the lone double-digit scorers for the Lady Techsters. In addition to her scoring, Malone also tied for a team-high eight rebounds. Ashley Santos also grabbed eight boards in Lafayette.

Of Louisiana Tech's six losses this season, five have come by single digits or in overtime; the one exception being a ten-point loss a nationally-recognized Auburn team earlier this month.

"I am going to build this thing the right way," Stoehr continued. "We are going to do things the right way. You are going to earn what you get and our players are going to have to learn to understand that. I do not care if you are our leading scorer or you don't score at all, you are going to show up and do the right things every day. We are going to play hard and we are going to practice hard. If that means we lose a game here and there, then okay. We are going to do things the right way and eventually we are going to get everyone on board."

After a Christmas break, Louisiana Tech's next action will come when the Lady Techsters open Conference USA play on Friday, Dec. 30 against Southern Miss in the Thomas Assembly Center.

"I am not happy that we lost," Stoehr said. "I am not happy that we are 5-6, but I saw something in this group and it was something that I have been needing to see, some fight. We are 0-0 going into conference play and now we have something to fight for. That is what they have to understand. Everyone is different. Just show up and give me your best every single day. When you do that, good things are going to happen. When your heart is in the right spot, then good things happen."