LONG BEACH, Calif. - A slow first half created the hole and a strong second period wasn't quite enough to climb out of it on Sunday for the Idaho women's basketball team at Long Beach State.

Idaho (1-11) shot 25.9 percent from the field and turned it over 14 times in the first half to put itself down by as many as 14 points to Long Beach State (4-7). The Vandals came back with a 48.0 percent clip in the second and a tighter defensive effort, but it wasn't enough to overcome the 49ers in a 65-53 loss at the Walter Pyramid.

"I told them afterward, all these games are going the same," Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. "We start out good, the other team takes the lead, takes a bigger lead, we battle all the way back and we're right there, and then we just can't quite get there and lose by 10 or 12 because we have to foul.

"At that point when we get right there, we need someone who can step up and make the big shot. We need to not break down defensively and stay within the team defense and find people (shooters)."

There were strong performances, like junior Rachele Kloke's first career double-double, freshman Jessica Graham's career-high five blocks, and the team's season-high .467 (7-15) performance from 3-point range, but inconsistencies still remained for the Vandal women.

Leading 12-8 at the 12:43 mark and playing well, Idaho hit a wall. After a Bianca Cheever 3-pointer, Idaho turned it over 10 times in its next 18 possessions in the ensuing 10 minutes. In the meantime, Long Beach State steadily expanded its advantage into a 29-15 lead with 2:17 remaining in the first half.

"We lost their 3-point shooters in transition and didn't get back," Newlee said. "They've got some kids that can really shoot it. They were pressing us and we took a few bad shots, and that's when they expanded their lead."

Even after taking on the huge deficit, the Idaho women didn't fold. In the second half, the Vandals came out with fire and immediately put themselves back in position to win. After the 49ers opened the second half with a bucket, Idaho scored nine unanswered points to pull within four at 33-29 with 17:13 remaining.

"The first half was panic," Newlee said. "The second half, we really settled down and played well. We were taking much better shots and handling the ball."

Kloke and Cheever led Idaho with 15 points each, while Shaena Kuehu contributed eight points and seven rebounds, and Graham put in seven points and four rebounds to go along with her career-best block total.

For the 49ers, Ally Wade scored 20 points, while Lauren Sims added 16 and Karina Figueroa put in 11. As a team, LBSU hit a crisp .529 from 3-point range and .400 overall from the field.

Idaho out-rebounded the 49ers by a 41-34 margin, but was outscored significantly off turnovers for a second-straight game. LBSU had 23 points off 23 Idaho miscues, while the Vandals had just nine points off 12 Long Beach State turnovers.

Now through with the majority of its non-conference schedule, Idaho will have eight days before its next game against UC-Santa Barbara, and 20 days before its Western Athletic Conference opener against Fresno State on Jan. 9 at the Cowan Spectrum.

"I think the break comes at a good time for us. We had that big stretch of games and I think now is the time to take a little break and recharge ourselves," Newlee said. "Our goal is to be competitive in the WAC and win the WAC, and that hasn't changed. We intend to get better over the break and in that stretch before Fresno and get ready for WAC action."