MOSCOW - For the first 45 minutes of Sunday's game against Hawai'i, Idaho's women played some of their best soccer of the season, but second-half lapses spelled disaster for the Vandals in a 3-2 loss to Hawai'i on Senior Day.

Idaho (9-10, 2-6 Western Athletic Conference) fired out of the gates, put the pressure on Hawai'i (7-11-1, 3-5 WAC) from the very beginning. With the Rainbow Wahine on their heels, the Vandals struck quickly, first with a nifty shot from freshman Jill Flockhart at 14:43, then again from Ashley Perez just a minute and a half later.

Idaho kept up the pressure and gave themselves a few other solid scoring chances in the first 45, but went into the half with a 2-0 advantage and a wealth of momentum on its side. A spirited Vandal squad took the field to start the second half, but it was Hawai'i that pushed the pace early.

"It was just mental lapses," Idaho head coach Pete Showler said. "We were dominating the game. I think mentally, we just stopped playing, and you can't do that at this level."

UH's Britta Bourne got the Rainbow Wahine on the board five minutes into the second half with the first of her three goals in the final 45 minutes. She scored again at the 64:47 mark, then headed in the game-winner at 84:50.

"We are a good team, and we've just got to believe that and understand that," Showler said. "To become a very good team, it's the mental aspect of finishing games, and we just didn't do that today."

For the final 45 minutes, it was Hawai'i that controlled the tempo and kept constant pressure on the Idaho back line. UH outshot Idaho 14-6 in the second half and 22-15 overall in the game. The Wahine put seven shots on goal in the second half, while Idaho managed just one.

"In the second half, give credit to Hawai'i," Showler said. "They threw everything at us and kept throwing it at us. They created their chances and took them.

"We had other chances that we didn't take, and that's what you've got to learn from."

Senior Sari Morrison led the team with four shots and added an assist on Flockhart's first goal, while freshman Chelsea Small attempted three to give her a school-record total of 101 shots for the year. Senior goalkeeper Anna Sandman had six saves in 90 minutes. Freshman Lauren Layton earned her fourth career assist on Perez's score in the first half.

"It is bittersweet, but I'm excited to come back and watch these girls, because they're going to be good," Perez said. "They need to work their hardest every day, because one day it's going to end, and you don't want to regret anything."

Even with the loss, the Vandals still put together their best team finish since 2001 and the best single-season turnaround in team history at eight wins. Entering the weekend, Idaho's eight-win improvement was the best in the NCAA so far this season.