Tech's head coach Kurt Budke's face tells the story as he ambles off the hardwood of the Thomas Assembly Center with his eyes to the floor.

An intense whirlwind of anger, disappointment and frustration mixed with unblemished pride, hope and passion to work harder to win the next game paces his step.

After the final buzzer sounds, Jimmy Washington's familiar voice rings out the final score but with an unfamiliar result -- Illinois 71, Tech 65.

Silence. One could hear a pin drop.

The 3,617-member crowd is stunned with a shock not felt since Jan. 30, 1992, when the Lady Techsters last lost a home match to an unranked team.

The Lady Techsters drift toward the tunnel to enter the locker room, and their faces are like stone, numb from the defeat of a skirmish fought on their home court.

They look up to the crowd almost apologetically for the loss, reeling from a sense of lost pride or glory. Their eyes scan the near unconscious crowd and search for encouragement, pleading for a ray of applause and support.

But the fans of whom have been spoiled by so many years of dominance offer little praise or ovation.

Understanding the tradition and winning heritage of such a prolific program, the players seep from the locker room with blood shot eyes, weary from the emotional trauma suffered in a loss that snapped a 161-game home-winning streak against unranked opponents and dropped the Lady Techsters from the AP Top 25 after 221 consecutive weeks in the poll.

These women understand the tradition of a program with an 856-140 all time record with 27 20-plus win seasons, 18 30-plus win seasons, 15 conference titles, 13 Final Fours, eight national title appearances and three national championships in 30 years of existence.

No one has to tell these women about the heritage of this program, but everyone should support this team and be true fans through good times and bad.

Despite shooting only 24 percent from the floor in their loss to Illinois, the Lady Techsters displayed the purest pursuit for victory last Saturday, as they played their fourth game in seven days.

Their effort was second to none, led by point guard Tasha Crain who hobbled back onto the court with a brace on her injured ankle for the final 10 minutes of the game.

Crain hit a jumper in the lane to give Tech a three-point advantage with 7.5 seconds remaining in the game, but Illinois tied the game with a three pointer at the buzzer and eventually won in overtime.

Lakiste Barkus, who hit only three of 19 from the floor, played all 45 minutes and recorded 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and no turnovers. Aarica Ray-Boyd, Shan Moore and Tamika Kursh also gritted it out and were instrumental in the Lady Techsters' near come from behind win.

However, while taking nothing away from the Lady Techsters' coaching staff, team, or the effort to continue this cherished tradition, allow this to serve as a wake up call to the status of this program.

Tech is not the same powerhouse as in the past.

In fact, Tech is not even the premier program in the state anymore. The tide turned when LSU beat Tech in the Sweet 16 of the 2002 NCAA tournament, and God forbid this next statement -- LSU is the number one nationally ranked team and the premier program in the state.

Not the Lady Techsters.

It isn't our coaches, players, or anything associated with our program. Budke and his staff is one of the finest in the nation.

Our program hasn't gotten worse. It's simply that the bigger schools with more financial resources and attraction pull the upper tier athletes over Tech, which stands in lonely Ruston.

Regardless, for most of the game, our fans watched in horror as the Lady Techsters were down. Then, when Tech made a 10-0 splurge to get on top, fans finally began cheering.

As if the lack of applause throughout the game wasn't sickening enough, while our team played its guts out and needed that adrenaline from its fans, the lifeless ovation as the Lady Techsters left the court was disgusting.

We can not be fair weather fans, and we must always support our teams.

Always take pride in tradition and the winning heritage, but don't forget the sweat and tears it took to reach that mountaintop.

Tech fans are spoiled and kicked back on Mount Zion, but the battle takes place in the valley. Fans, it's time to get off your rocker and help our team fight uphill to re-establish itself as a national contender.

The Lady Techsters, as well as the Bulldogs and every other Tech sport, need you in attendance, in blue and on your feet cheering.

With no verbal words, Budke simply walked into the locker room when Tech was down 38-34 to Mississippi at halftime, wrote this message and walked out: We are Louisiana Tech.

Come show your support when Tech hosts No. 9 Tennessee on Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m.

Josh Milton is a senior journalism major from Ruston and serves as sports editor for The Tech Talk.