MOSCOW ? The University of Idaho women's basketball team played a competitive first half in the team's home opener against Montana, but the Vandals couldn't get it going in the second and fell 55-36 to the Lady Griz.

“I didn't like anything (about the game),” Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. “I thought our execution was poor on offense and defense. They weren't communicating ? they know what they should be doing, and if they're not going to talk to each other, that's what's going to happen.”

The Idaho (0-2) women shot just .268 (11-of-41) from the floor, while Montana (2-0) went .339 on 20-of-59 shooting. Montana was also eight-of-22 from beyond the 3-point arc, while Idaho was just one-of-13.

Junior Derisa Taleni led Idaho with 17 points, seven of which came from the free throw line, but no other Vandal player had more than five. Taleni also added seven rebounds and one steal. Junior Charlotte Otero had a career-high five steals, but managed just one point and one assist on the day. Sophomore Yinka Olorunnife had eight rebounds, but just four points.

“I thought Derisa attacked and I thought Yinka attacked, but you've got to attack under control,” Newlee said. “I thought Charlotte played well, but I told them, three people aren't going to get it done. We've got a team and three people aren't going to win the game.”

In the first half, Idaho was aggressive and put Montana into foul trouble early. The Vandals forced 13 trips to the line and cashed in with nine points to help keep them in the game early on and send it in at halftime with Montana leading 28-20.

As the second period started, nothing quite went right for Idaho. The team's first two possessions ended in turnovers and the Vandals started off the half shooting one-of-nine from the field with six turnovers as Montana built up a 44-22 lead over the first seven minutes of the half.

Mandy Morales led Montana with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals on six-of-12 shooting, including four-of-10 from the 3-point line. Lauren Beck added 11 points with four boards for the Lady Griz.

Idaho will next travel to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State, a team the Vandals beat last year at home by a score of 42-31. Game time is 3 p.m. (PST).