By BRIAN TYNES

Sports Writer

The Lady Techsters lost two Western Athletic Conference games in a single season for the first time since joining the conference four years ago.

Tech's second WAC loss and sixth loss of the year came by a 79-78 overtime defeat at Hawaii.

The game marked the first time Tech (15-6, 11-2) has lost to Hawaii.

Both teams had career-high scorers, as Tech's point guard Tasha Crain scored a game-high 36 points and Hawaii's Amy Sanders scored 27 points.

Head coach Kurt Budke said Crain is the best player in the WAC.

"Tasha is playing unbelievably right now," Budke said. "If she continues playing like this, I think there is no question she'll be the MVP of the conference."

Crain's 36 points were the most for a Tech player since 1992.

After holding a slim 28-25 lead at halftime, Tech entered a shootout in the second half, when both teams shot better than 48 percent from the floor.

But no shot was more important than Crain's two-pointer with two seconds to play that sent the contest into overtime.

Crain continued leading Tech by hitting two free throws at the 2:51 mark, but she soon after fouled out.

The final 33 seconds saw three lead changes, the final of which went to Hawaii by way of Sanders with eight seconds on the clock.

Shan Moore's final shot was unsuccessful, as Hawaii pulled away.

With Crain scoring almost half of Tech's points, few were left for the rest of the team, but Erica Taylor and Lakiste Barkus were each able to hit double figures with 14 and 12.

Budke said Hawaii's complex offense made the difference.

"I thought we scored enough points to win the game, but they made some key shots at key times," Budke said. "Their power forward is one of the top five in the conference, and it's hard for us to match up against her on the perimeter."

After the loss, Tech rebounded with an 80-51 win at San Jose State and maintained a two and a half game lead over the second place Spartans and Rice Owls in WAC standings.

Tech took a small lead into halftime and came out on fire with a 37-9 run to lead 67-33 with 5:28 to play.

Crain was again the leading scorer with 16 points, and Taylor and Barkus each added 14. Margaret DeCiman added 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.

"The key for Margaret is to stay out of foul trouble," Budke said. "If she goes without a couple of fouls in the first 5-6 minutes, she finds her place in the game."

Before this emotional road trip, the Lady Techsters flexed its conference muscle with wins over Fresno State and Nevada by scores of 86-76 and 108-72, respectively.

Against Fresno State, Tech trailed by seven at the half after being down by as many as eleven. But Tech overcame that deficit by shooting 58 percent in the second half, as opposed to Fresno State's 40 percent, and outscoring them 56-39.

Fresno State's Aritta Lane was still able to put up a career-high 31 points, and teammate Amy Parrish scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Crain and Barkus both broke the 20-point barrier with 25 and 20, respectively, and Shan Moore added 14.

DeCiman added 12 points, and Ty Moore led Tech with 11 rebounds.

Two days later Taylor scored a season-high 19 points in just her fifth game of the year. Five Techsters finished in double figures in the win over Nevada.

While Taylor had her best game of the year, Crain and Barkus managed more points for the Techsters when they posted 25 and 23, respectively.

Other double-digit performers were Shan Moore with 10 and Tamika Kursh, who had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Eighteen first-half rebounds allowed Tech to enter halftime leading 49-35, and any hope of a comeback was lost when Tech shot 56 percent in the second half.

With the conference tournament a month away, Budke said the Techsters need to develop a solid rotation if they expect to succeed.

"We have to build up our depth and get strong enough to play nine or 10 players," Budke said.

"I think the key to our success is Erica. She's starting to get more comfortable shooting in traffic. But our main concern is staying healthy."