PORTLAND, Oregon - The University of Idaho women's basketball team overcame 15 first half turnovers to earn a 56-42 win over Portland State University, Sunday.

Emily Faurholt led all scorers with 28 points and Leilani Mitchell was two assists shy of a triple-double as the Vandals (5-3) shook off a slow start to defeat the Vikings (0-6).

"I am really proud of our players for their effort in the second half," Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said. "They really battled to get themselves righted and were a lot more aggressive. I was really proud of how they responded and how they found a way to be successful."

Idaho trailed 22-20 at halftime after Portland State scored nine points off 15 Idaho turnovers in the first half. Faurholt had 12 of the team's 20 points at the break and only two other players graced the scoreboard for the Vandals. The first half saw six lead changes and four ties.

The Vandals made huge strides in the second half as the team committed just two turnovers throughout the half and outscored the Vikings by 16 points.

"The difference in the turnovers was all about being aggressive in everything we do," Divilbiss said. "They were hitting us in the mouth a little bit and we had to learn to hit back. That aggressiveness translated throughout the rest of the game and I have always felt the team who is most aggressive is going to shoot the ball better. As we get more confident and more aggressive we are going to be more successful, as we began to find out tonight."

Faurholt led all scorers with 28 points and Mitchell had an outstanding all-around game, finishing just two assists shy of a triple-double. She finished the game with 16 points, coming mostly on 12-of-12 shooting from the free throw line, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Heather Thoelke scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Jessica Summers rounded out the scoring with four points and nine rebounds.

The Vandals outrebounded the Vikings 48-32. Sixteen of Idaho's rebounds came on the offensive end.

"This game was a real team effort because our players contributed in a lot of different ways tonight," Divilbiss said. "We had very good team defense and that was the key. Although Emily and Leilani had all the points, Karly's defense, Jessica's rebounding, Heather's toughness, they were all contributing factors in this win."

The Vandals will next travel to Spokane, Wash., where they will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday (Dec. 18). The game will begin at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast live on KHQ Channel-6 in the Spokane area.