MOSCOW, Idaho - Despite trailing by 20 midway through the second half, the Idaho women's basketball team clawed all the way back to within four points on two occasions in the final two minutes, but could never get over the hump in a 78-68 loss to North Dakota in the Cowan Spectrum on Tuesday night.

The Vandals (5-10) trailed 60-40 with 9:42 remaining when they went on a 24-8 extended run to trail by just four at 68-64 with 2:11 remaining.  However, the Vandals went 0-of-4 from the field in the final two minutes as North Dakota (7-8) iced the game from the free throw line.

"We did come back," Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. "We finally decided to start playing hard, but unfortunately it took being down 20 to start playing hard. That, along with missing I don't know how many layups, again, and giving up I don't know how many offensive boards, again, cost us the game."

North Dakota out-rebounded Idaho 48-38 and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.

The game was the third between the two schools this season, and played out similarly to Idaho's win over North Dakota on Dec. 28, but with the roles reversed. In Idaho's 53-50 victory over UND it was the Vandals who owned a 20-point second half lead and withstood a run to win the game.

Idaho shot 41.0 percent from the field in the game, hitting 25-of-61 shots and 5-of-18 3-pointers.  Idaho had 15 turnovers which led to 20 North Dakota points in the game and missed eight free throws overall, going 13-of-21 from the foul line. North Dakota shot 39.1 percent from the field, and hit 7-of-22 3-pointers and 17-of-22 free throws.

"It's a young team that needs to learn how to play hard every night and practice hard every day, and they've got to get more physical," Newlee said of his team. "We've been man-handled by teams, and I feel like we back down against teams and it's going to be worse in the WAC. It's a rough league, it's a physical league, and these kids have got to get tougher."

Three Vandals scored in double figures in the game, led by senior Keri Arendse who had 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. She also added three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game. Sophomore Alyssa Charlston had 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and added four steals before fouling out with less than a minute to play. Freshman Stacey Barr contributed with 15 points off the bench for the Vandals and added six rebounds and four assists, despite finishing the first half with no points, no rebound and just one assist.

"The first half wasn't too good," Barr said. "I was doing too much with the ball, I need to move it around and cut through and run our offense, and in the second half I thought I did that a little better."

Senior Ganeaya Rogers and freshman Krissy Karr each added six points for Idaho. Rogers also added five rebounds and five steals.

The Vandals wrap up non-conference play on Thursday when Seattle University visits the Cowan Spectrum. The Idaho coaching staff will coach in their bare feet in that game in an effort to raise money and provide shoes and socks for impoverished children around the world. Idaho's Western Athletic Conference slate begins next week with a games at Louisiana Tech on Jan. 12 and New Mexico State on Jan. 14.