MOSCOW - Not even a poor shooting game could stop the Idaho women from getting that elusive first victory, as the Vandals held Colorado State to a Western Athletic Conference record eight field goals and won their first game of the season 42-31 at the Cowan Spectrum.

 

“I've never been as happy for a group of kids,” Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said. “I told them that they earned this because of how they worked over the past couple week.”

 

While it wasn't the prettiest game offensively, the Vandals won by doing things that they hadn't done well in the previous 10 games, namely protecting the ball. Idaho had a season-low 10 turnovers and forced Colorado State into 24.

 

“We took really good care of the ball,” Divilbiss said. “We keep getting better at a lot of our weaknesses.”

 

Idaho finished the game shooting a season-low .220 (13-59) from the field, but had season highs in many other important categories. The Vandals had a season-high six blocks, 12 steals and 45 rebounds. They also had their second-lowest foul total to limit CSU to just 19 free throw attempts.

 

Senior Sara Dennehy led the way for Idaho with her second-straight all-around good game. She had nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. It was just her second start of the season after missing time to recover from foot surgery.

 

“Sara is a real steady kid,” Divilbiss said. “She's the kind of kid who makes everyone better.”

 

While Dennehy cringed when she saw the Idaho offensive stat line, she quickly pointed out the importance of the intangibles.

 

“Clearly, the game was won because of our defense and our rebounding,” Dennehy said. “We took care of the ball really well, we rebounded and we made baskets off their turnovers and that's basically why we won.”

 

The contributions came from all over the court for Idaho, as Katie Madison put in nine points with seven rebounds, an assist, two blocks and a career-high five steals. Charlotte Otero added six points, six rebounds and two assists and also hit four important free throws late in the game to help preserve the lead.

 

Alana Curtis, who hails from Fort Collins, Colo., added six points, seven rebounds, a block and a career-high four steals.

 

“I know that's a big game for [Curtis], playing against her hometown school,” Divilbiss said.

 

One factor of the game that doesn't show up in the statistics is defensive effort. CSU's Sara Hunter, the team's scoring leader at 13.5 points per game, was never able to get into a groove because the Vandal defense stayed in her face and kept her uncomfortable all night. She scored just six points on two-of-12 shooting.

 

Getting the first win gives the team a big confidence boost after playing so well in the last few games, but not getting the result to show for it, according to Divilbiss. Dennehy agreed with her coach.

 

“This is a huge win for our confidence,” Dennehy said. “We've been practicing so hard these last two weeks. That was really fun. It's a good feeling.”

 

Colorado State held a 52-45 rebounding edge and outscored Idaho 10-9 on second-chance points, but the Vandals outscored the Rams 13-1 in points off turnovers and 10-4 in points in the paint.

 

The final point total of 42 is the lowest the Vandals have ever scored in a victory and the 31 points allowed ties a 25-year-old school record as the fewest points allowed.

 

The Idaho women will get a nice holiday break before heading back onto the court. The Vandals don't play until a Dec. 30 road trip to Stockton, Calif., to face Pacific.