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RUSTON -- Ty Petty and Alex Johnson combined for 49 points and Middle Tennessee scored 34 fourth quarter points to down Louisiana Tech 79-65 Saturday afternoon in Conference USA action at the Thomas Assembly Center.

The Blue Raiders (12-8, 7-2 C-USA) snapped LA Tech's three-game winning streak in a game that saw the Lady Techsters (10-10, 5-4 C-USA) lead by three with just over six minutes to play before Middle Tennessee rallied.

"I give Ty Petty a lot of credit," said Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr. "She made some plays late and Alex Johnson is a tough match-up inside. Petty is a very experienced senior guard and she was a big reason for their finish. Middle is an experienced team that has won a lot of games during the last decade.

"I thought we did a pretty good job against Johnson for most of the game, but she is so tough inside. I said she was the best post player we have faced this year and she showed people why. It's a game where we put ourselves in position but just didn't make the plays late.

"They had about 10 straight possessions (in the fourth quarter) where they either scored or got to the free throw line. We didn't do as good of a job making Petty use the screen and she hurt us. I thought the three-pointer (Charity Savage) hit was big for them."

After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half when Abbey Sissmon's three-pointer gave the Blue Raiders a 35-22 advantage with 2:41 to play before halftime. However, Tech scored the final seven points of the half including Kierra Anthony's runner off the glass as the first half buzzer sounded to cut the deficit to 35-29 at the half.

Anthony scored 15 of her career-high tying 23 points in the first half keeping the Lady Techsters in the game, a contest that saw 51 fouls called and 48 free throws shot.

Tech was plagued by turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. The Lady Techsters committed 12 turnovers that led to 22 points by the Blue Raiders.

"The crazy thing is I don't think that many of them were forced," said Stoehr. "I do think Middle Tennessee did a good job of playing over the top of our guards and getting in the passing lanes and making things tough at times. It's another learning experience for us."

The third quarter saw the two teams remain close as Middle Tennessee led by as many as eight before Tech once again rallied, cutting the Blue Raiders lead down to 45-44 at the end of the quarter. MT hit only 4-of-19 field goals in the quarter.

The fourth quarter saw Tech take its first lead since the opening minutes of the game when Reauna Cleaver's jumper from the right baseline gave the Techsters a 47-45 advantage with 8:46 to play. An Alexus Malone layup with 6:46 remaining saw Tech take its biggest lead of the night at 53-50; however, it was short lived.

With the game tied at 54-54, Savage drilled only her second three-pointer of the season. Just minute later, she added an offensive rebound that led to a Sissom bucket and then scored on a conventional three-point play with 3:34 to go to up the MT lead to 64-56.

Middle Tennessee hit 17-of-18 free throws and 8-of-14 field goals in the final 10 minutes.

Anthony scored 23 points and recorded seven assists while Malone added 12 points and Jasmine LeBlanc finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Tech returns to action Thursday when it travels to WKU.