POCATELLO, Idaho - The University of Idaho women's basketball team let one get away as the Vandals saw a 17-point second half lead turn into a 10-point overtime loss at Idaho State.

The Vandals (3-5) led 44-27 with 17:15 remaining in regulation, but ultimately could not hold off the Bengals (4-4) as they scored 73 points after halftime for the come-from-behind victory.

"We had the game won, but we got back on our heels and were tentative defensively," Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said. "We have to be able to finish a game like that and close things out."

Idaho continuously survived the Bengal attack in the waning minutes of the second half and two Leilani Mitchell free throws put them up by nine points with 39 seconds remaining. An amazing shooting display by Idaho State turned the tides in the final 30 seconds as the Bengals hit their final four shots, including a desperation 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. The Vandals hit just 3-of-5 free throws during the stretch.

The game began with a similar display of shooting for Idaho State as the Bengals hit their first five shots to take an 11-7 lead at the 15:37 mark. The Vandals found themselves behind 19-16 at the 9:25 mark before putting together a 15-2 run to take a 31-21 lead with 2:55 remaining. Idaho State closed the half by outscoring Idaho 5-2 and the Vandals took a 33-26 lead into the locker room.

When the second half began it was all Idaho as the Vandals scored the first seven points and went up 40-26 with just under 18 minutes to play. Idaho found itself with its biggest lead of the game forty-five seconds later and the Vandals held a large advantage for the next two minutes. With 15:07 remaining in the regulation and Idaho up 50-34, the game turned into a see-saw battle. The Bengals got within nine and the Vandals pushed their lead back to 11 points. One minute later, ISU was within seven points before Emily Faurholt hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double-digits. The margin was three and Idaho responded with two-straight baskets to go up by seven points. Idaho State brought the score to 59-57 with 7:10 remaining and the two teams battled to another two-point margin at 64-62 with 5:35 remaining. The Vandals began to gain some momentum at that point and pushed their lead back to double-digits with a 12-2 run giving them a 76-64 lead with just under three minutes to play. Idaho State responded with two baskets and Jessica Summers put Idaho back up 10 points with a lay in with 1:15 remaining in the game. ISU missed a 3-point shot on its next possession, but grabbed the offensive rebound and made Idaho pay with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to seven points. The Bengals fouled Mitchell on the in-bounds play and she hit both free throws to set up the unlikely scenario that ended regulation.

The momentum Idaho State carried into the overtime period was evident as the Bengals hit 5-of-6 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws to surge ahead for the win. The Vandals made just 1-of-5 shots from the floor and committed three turnovers in the extra frame.

"This season is all about learning to take the next step and play with expectations," Divilbiss said. "For the last two seasons we have been jumping up on people and surprising them, but this year everyone is going to have our game circled and it's going to be a huge game for them. We have to be able to handle those expectations to be able to take the next step in our journey."

Idaho got the balanced scoring it is always looking for with four starters scoring in double-digits. Mitchell led the scoring with 20 points and added nine assists for the third consecutive game. She also grabbed five steals. Karly Felton and Jessica Summers had career-highs with 19 and 18 points, respectively, and Summers also grabbed eight rebounds. Faurholt was the other Vandal in double-figures as she finished with 13 points.

"We had some players step up big offensively, but this team is all about defense," Divilbiss said. "If we play good defense we are a very good basketball, but if we don't defend we are very average. We have to play on a very high level defensively if we want to have any success."

Idaho State saw big numbers from Andrea Lightfoot, who finished the game with 38 points and shot 7-of-9 from beyond the 3-point line. Joanna Hixon finished with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Idaho was out-rebounded by a 57-27 margin and Idaho State turned 20 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points. The Vandals forced the Bengals into 17 turnovers while committing just nine in the game.

"They were more aggressive at times, but watching the game it didn't feel like they we were being out-rebounded by so much. It didn't seem like it was making much of a difference, but we obviously aren't going to win many games where we miss 35 shots and give up 20 offensive rebounds," Divilbiss said.

Next up for the Vandals is a 10-day break from competition before heading to the University of Montana for a game Dec. 20.