The Vandals converted on just 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) field goals in the first half, and also committed 16 turnovers, leading to 19 Pepperdine points, to trail 33-13 at the break.

But the second half was a different story. Idaho shot 44.8 percent from the field and forced 11 turnovers to out-score the Waves 35-24.

 "After that first half we could have just put our heads down, tucked our tails between our legs and gone home," Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. "But our players responded after the half and played with a fire, and that's great to see from a young team. I think we can build on that and we should learn from this experience.

 "In the first half we came out real tentative against their pressure. We played back on our heels and really let their pressure take us out of the game. We made a couple adjustments at halftime and we did a much better job after halftime handling their pressure. In the second half we did a much better job, we attacked the rim, and took better care of the basketball."

Sophomore Alyssa Charlston had 10 of her career-high 15 rebounds in the second half, and finished with her first career double-double as she added a team-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Senior Keri Arendse had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and added three steals. Freshman Krissy Karr hit 4-of-10 shots to finish with eight points.

Senior Adrie Shiels had five points, four rebounds and two steals off the bench for Idaho, while junior Jessica Graham finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists.

The Vandals averaged 22.5 3-pointers attempted per game heading into the contest, but shot just six on Friday, going 1-for-6. Freshman Stacey Barr made Idaho's lone 3-pointer, and those were her only three points of the game.

The Vandals shot 36.2 percent from the field for the game, going 17-of-47. Idaho came into the game shooting just 62.8 percent from the free throw line, and struggled once again, hitting 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) free throws against Pepperdine. The Vandals finished with 25 turnovers which led to 27 Pepperdine points, and held a 38-36 advantage in rebounding.

"We told them at halftime that after we broke their press we wanted to attack the rim," Newlee said. "We weren't settling for quick 3's or rushing transition 3's. We wanted to make them pay for their pressure. We got to the line, but we didn't convert at the free throw line like we needed to."

Pepperdine hit 21-of-58 shots in the game to shoot 36.2 percent from the field as well. The Waves hit just 2-of-13 3-pointers and turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 21 Vandal points. Pepperdine's Katie Menton led all scorers in the game with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

The Vandals will play in the tournament's consolation game on Saturday against the loser of New Mexico's game against Morehead State. That game will tip off at 4 p.m. Idaho returns home to host Washington in Memorial Gym on Nov. 30 at 5:30 p.m. That game is the first of a double-header, as the Vandal men's team will host Eastern Washington in Memorial Gym at 8 p.m. that night.