“We have to grow up as a basketball team and another step is to learn how to win,” Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said. “We're starting to correct some of the fundamental and mechanical things. We're taking care of the ball, we're taking better shots and we're playing very well defensively, but we've just got to learn how to win.”

The two teams had highly contrasting styles in the first half, as Idaho put up 24 of its 31 first-half points from beyond the arc and Pacific scored all 32 first-half points within the three-point line, including 18 in the paint.

The Vandals, who entered the game shooting just .247 from the three-point line, started off the game at a torrid pace, hitting eight of their first 14 shots from behind the arc for a blazing .571 average. Senior Lindsey Koppen led the way, as she hit three-of-seven in the first half, while fellow senior Sara Dennehy went two-for-four from deep.

“That's what we see every day in practice,” Divilbiss said. “We've got several players who can make threes.”

Despite the early long-distance success, the Vandals were never able to get any sort of inside game going, as the team finished the game with just 16 points in the paint and was just nine-of-38 (.237) from two-point range for the game.

“We just have to get to a point where these little runs don't kill us,” Divilbiss said. “We make two or three mistakes or miss a couple shots and we let it affect everything else we do.”

Leading scorer and rebounder Katie Madison got into foul trouble early and fouled out for the second straight game. Madison got into foul trouble early and fouled out with just under five minutes to go. She finished the game with three points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals in 21 minutes. She also finished the game 0-5 from the floor and failed to make a field goal for the first time in her career, ending a streak of 39 consecutive games with a made field goal.

The Tigers held a 45-29 rebounding advantage, but Divilbiss said that's not the advantage it might seem to be, because Idaho took 18 more shots than Pacific did.

“People might see those rebound numbers and think that's why we lost,” Divilbiss said. “The rebound numbers show that way because we got 20 more shots than our opponents?we just didn't make them. There are a lot more shots on our end when we're getting these turnovers and playing defense like we have.”

For the second straight game, the Vandal women took better care of the ball, as they committed 17 turnovers and had 12 steals. Pacific ended the game with 24 turnovers and just nine steals.

Another big difference in the game was free throws, where Pacific outscored Idaho 16-4. The Vandals made just six trips to the line, compared to 23 for the Tigers, despite the teams being nearly even in total fouls at 15-14.

Just one game after holding Colorado State to its worst single-game shooting percentage ever at just over 17 percent, the Vandals couldn't do the same against the Tigers, who shot 47.8 percent from the field on Sunday. Pacific's Karen Dawkins finished the game with 25 points and six rebounds on nine-of-12 shooting for the game.

With the non-conference slate now finished, it's time for the Vandals to focus on Western Athletic Conference play and it won't start out easily. The Vandals face 9-3 New Mexico State on Thursday at Las Cruces, N.M., then heading out to Ruston, La. to face Louisiana Tech the following Wednesday.