MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho women's basketball team outlasted the New Mexico State Aggies in a triple-overtime thriller, 83-74, Wednesday night at the Cowan Spectrum.

With the win Idaho improves its record to 4-14 overall and 1-6 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Vandals also snapped a 10-game losing streak. With the loss New Mexico State falls to 8-10 overall and 3-3 in the WAC.

"I think the kids showed a lot of character," head coach Mike Divilbiss said. "To have Madison foul out, there were so many things that they could have said, 'its tough' and hung their head, but they didn't. I am proud of them.

"We got a run there and went up 17 and kind of lost our focus, we hadn't been in that situation before. Give New Mexico State credit they really battled, tonight. There are no nights off in this league."

Despite fouling out in the second half Katie Madison tied for a game-high 25 points. Madison collected her eighth double-double of the season, as she also had 10 rebounds. Three other Vandals were in double-digits on the evening. Sara Dennehy had 19 on the night. Dennehy also hauled in 18 rebounds, which included 16 on the defensive end. Charlotte Otero tied her career-high going for 13 points. Ticey Westbrooks had 11 points in the game, before suffering an injury in the third overtime period.

"My heart just breaks for Ticey, it really hurts," Divilbiss said. "She has done so much for us, but her body just hasn't held up."

Anikia Jawara had 25 points for the Aggies. She was joined in double figures by two other Aggies. Sherell Neal and Cecilia Russell-Nava both had 13 for New Mexico State. Neal and Jawara both turned in double-doubles as the pair had 13 and 10 rebounds respectively. Carla Denning also had double-digit rebounds as she finished with 11.

The Vandals were in a slight hole early as New Mexico State came out firing. NMSU opened the game on a 4-0 run. The Vandals kept their heads up and cut the lead to one, 9-8 on a Madison layup. NMSU kept the pressure on Idaho, though and with 14:29 to play a Sherell Neal jumper brought the lead back to four 14-10.

Lindsey Koppen sank two free throws at the 9:15 mark of the first half to give the Vandals their first tie of the game. The free throws knotted the score at 20. The Vandals went on a 23-10 run in the half's final nine minutes to go into the locker rooms with a 13 point edge, 43-30.

The second half was dominated by NMSU as it outscored Idaho 29-16 in the half. NMSU's dominance in the period allowed the Aggies to knot the score and force the first overtime tied at 59.

Both teams struggled to score in the first overtime period and at the end of the first overtime the score was again tied, 63-63. Sara Dennehy and Charlotte Otero did the scoring for the Vandals in the period, Dennehy hit on two free throws and Otero hit the game-tying layup with 45 seconds left in the period.

"Sara is so unassuming in her body, she kind of slumps and doesn't look like much, but she is sneaky athletic," Divilbiss said. "She has long arms and is really strong around the basket and has much broader shoulders than it seems."

In the second overtime the Aggies built a three-point edge on an old-fashioned three point play from Russell-Nava. Idaho fought back, however, as Dennehy opened the scoring for the Vandals in the period with two free throws, which cut the lead to 66-65. Westbrooks gave Idaho a one-point lead of its own as she hit on a pair from the line. With 13 seconds left in the second overtime Otero looked like she had sealed a win for Idaho connecting on two free throws of her own and giving the Vandals a three-point edge. As time expired in the period, Russell-Nava drained a 3-point basket from the elbow and sent the teams into a third extra period.

"I am really impressed with Charlotte," Divilbiss said. "She is undersized but has a lot of heart and showed some tremendous leadership tonight. Her steal back-to-back with Ticey was a real back breaker to open the period."

Idaho dominated the third overtime. The Vandals outscored the Aggies 14-5 in the period. Westbrooks and Otero opened the period with back-to-back steals that the Vandals converted into points. Idaho never looked back and won the game 83-74.