MOSCOW, Idaho—The Idaho women's basketball team, after an eight-game road trip to open the season, returned to Memorial Gym for the first time this season on Saturday. Geraldine McCorkell had a strong showing, going for a game-high 21 points, helping the Vandals defeated Central Washington, 79-45.

McCorkell, a junior from Melbourne, Australia, led a pack of Vandals in double figures. She was 9-of-13 from the field, playing in a limited 23 minutes. Sophomore Mikayla Ferenz finished the afternoon with 15 points. Taylor Pierce totaled 11 for Idaho. Ferenz and Pierce both made good on three 3-pointers to lead the Vandals from beyond the arc. Senior Karlee Wilson rounded out Idaho's top scorers. She closed the contest with 10 points and a game-high seven assists.

Idaho (4-5) used a strong defensive performance to limit CWU to 45 points, a season-low for Idaho opponents. The Vandals outscored the Wildcats, 43-21, in the second half, including a 29-11 third quarter. CWU closed with 18 total field goals and a 28.6 shooting percentage, the lest by an opponent this season.

"That was something we talked about at halftime," head coach Jon Newlee said about his defense. "I wanted to see how intense we could get and see how low we could keep them on the scoreboard. The team really took it to heart. I thought our defensive effort and intensity was great in that second half."

The Vandals enjoyed their homecoming right from the start. Idaho scored 36 points in the first half to carry a 36-24 lead into the break. McCorkell opened the game 3-for-3 from the field, scoring Idaho's first six points. She along with Ferenz led the team at the break with 12 points apiece.

The Vandals used a 29-point third quarter to put a gap between the two teams. McCorkell was 3-for-3 in the period with nine points. An 8-0 run by Idaho put the Vandal sup 46-31 at the media timeout. CWU was limited to 4-of-11 shooting. The Wildcats turned the ball over six times, leading to seven Idaho points.

Coach Newlee emptied his bench in third and fourth quarter. 13 of Idaho's 14 players got in on the action. The Vandals bench outscored CWU's, 32-12. Redshirt freshman Sue Winger came off the bench to lead Idaho with nine rebounds in her 23 minutes.

"It was nice [to have a wide margin of victory]," Newlee added. "We have had some close games this year. It was great to sit back in the fourth and get good minutes for our bench, especially the freshmen. That will only help us going into Big Sky play."

Idaho finished the day 51.7 percent (30-for58) from the field and 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from long range. Idaho outscored CWU, 38-24, in the paint.  

Taylor Baird led Central Washington with 10 points.  

Idaho's trip home is a quick one. The Vandals are back on the road on Tuesday, Dec. 20, taking on No. 25 Oregon. That game is set for a 12 p.m. PT start.

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also follow Idaho women's basketball on Twitter, @VandalsWBB.