RUSTON, La. – In another low scoring, defensive-minded Conference USA match-up, Louisiana Tech fell short Saturday afternoon in a 63-58 loss to North Texas at the Thomas Assembly Center.

LA Tech (11-7, 6-6- C-USA) overcame a brutal start, falling behind 19-4 just six minutes into the contest, to rally all the way and take a seven-point third quarter lead. But it was North Texas guard Quincy Noble who made the big plays in the fourth quarter to lead the Mean Green (9-4, 6-2 C-USA) to the win.

The Lady Techsters committed 20 turnovers in the game and hit just 2-of-14 field goals in the fourth quarter as North Texas outscored Tech 20-9.

"I just thought we had too many unforced turnovers," said LA Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr. "They went to their zone there for a good bit of the game. I thought we handled it at times, got some really good looks, but you can't turn the ball over 20 times.

"That was the whole first quarter. They had 14 points off seven turnovers, and that put us in a hole. I'm proud of the way we fought back, and I thought we defended well. We knew they were going to come out and play well, and we knew Noble was going to shoot well.

"I thought the biggest issue was that we were up seven, and then we gave up back-to-back threes to her. Credit to that kid, she had a tough night last night and today she made every play down the stretch. We didn't do a very good job late, and those are the moment where you've got to be tough enough to execute against a zone and take care of the basketball and get a good shot."

Noble hit 10-of-13 field goals, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, and outscored Tech by herself in the fourth quarter (11-9).

Leading 49-43 with 10 minutes to play, Tech went ice cold from the field in the fourth quarter and committed six turnovers. North Texas shot 7-of-11 from the field during the game-deciding stretch.

The loss overshadowed some solid offensive performances by Bre Harris and Amber Dixon. Harris recorded her second career double double with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds while Dixon added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

"We watched film this morning, and so much of Bre's struggles last night was her defense," said Stoehr. "She just needed to be more engaged on the defensive side of the floor, and I thought she was and that got her going. We went to her, she got to the free throw line and knocked those down. She was big on the glass with 14 boards and really did a good job for us. I thought our rebounding effort was really good, and that's something we can do every game when we have that sort of focus. But, again, we've got to get some more from other people.

"Amber was aggressive and played well. She had some tough shots, and I'll be curious to see what the contact is there in fourth quarter. She was aggressive, got in the paint and made things happen for us. I was pleased with her performance on the glass, and she took care of the basketball."

As a team, Tech outrebounded North Texas 44-30, but shot just 32 percent (18-56) from the field, including just 25 percent (8-32) after halftime.

Keiunna Walker added 12 points while Anna Larr Roberson chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Techsters return to action Friday and Saturday when they travel to Birmingham to face UAB in a two-game series.