MISSOULA, Mont.—The Idaho women's basketball team broke a 32-year drought on Thursday night with an 86-59 win on Thursday. The Vandals left Dahlberg arena with a win for the first win in Missoula since Feb. 8, 1985.

How it Happened
Idaho (6-7, 1-1 BSC) controlled the game from start to finish on Thursday. Idaho held the lead for all but 1:42, only seeing it slip away with an early 2-2 tie in the first quarter.

Three Vandals finished the night in double figures. Sophomore Taylor Pierce led the game with a season-high 22 points off the bench. Mikayla Ferenz put in 13, while Geraldine McCorkell added 12. Senior Karlee Wilson finished just shy of a triple-double, finishing the night with nine points, nine assists and six rebounds in just 26 minutes of play.

The pace of play for both teams was a bit slow to start. Idaho led 4-2 after the game's first four minutes. The Vandals started 1-of-6 from the field, while limiting Montana to a 1-for-5 start. Senior Agueda Trujillo sparked Idaho's offense with a 3-pointer at the 3:11 mark of the first. 3's from Brooke Reilly and McCorkell helped Idaho close the final 1:41 on a 9-2 run, taking a 20-8 lead after 10 minutes.

Montana (3-11, 0-3 BSC) cut the Idaho lead down to seven, 20-13, in the first minute of the second quarter. That would be as close as the Lady Griz would get the rest of the night. Idaho got 11 points in 10 minutes of play from Pierce. Pierce shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range, helping Idaho to a 13-point halftime lead.

Ferenz all but wrapped things up for Idaho with 2:09 to play in the third. She put the Silver and Gold up by 23, 65-42, its largest lead to that point. Seconds later Bethany Krause hit a 3 to give Idaho a 28-point lead and Pierce continued the scoring, giving Idaho a 72-42 lead at the end of the third.

The Lady Griz outscored Idaho in the final quarter, 17-14, but the damage had been done. Of the five Idaho starters, only Trujillo played in the fourth quarter. All 14 points for Idaho came from the bench.

Turning Point
Idaho came out after halftime and made the game a three-quarter contest. The Vandals shot lights out in the third, hitting 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the floor. Ferenz hit two 3-pointers, helping the Vandals shoot 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from long range. Seven different players scored in the quarter, led by Ferenz (8 pts) and Sue Winger (6 pts) to finish with a season-high 31 points in the quarter. The Vandal defense did a good job protecting the net on the opposite end of the court, holding Montana to 6-of-17 from the field for 14 points.

Notes
First career start for Trujillo…Coach Newlee's 137th career win at Idaho…Idaho now has at least one 3FGM in 274 consecutive games…The 27-point difference was Montana's largest losing margin at home since an 89-57 loss to Oregon on Feb. 5, 1981...Idaho hit 33 field goals, second most this season...the Vandals handed out 23 assists on the night, second most this season...Idaho attempted just eight free throws, tied for a season-low...Idaho's eight turnovers also tied for a season-low...Idaho now has three wins this season of 25 points or more...McCorkell and Wilson each have a five-game 3-point streak...Pierce remains 10th in program history now with 120 career 3-pointers, four shy of moving into tie for ninth...Ferenz now has 111 career 3's, good for 11th all-time...Wilson now has 273 career assists, 11th in school history.

Quotes
Head coach Jon Newlee
On getting a win in Missoula
"That is crazy. I did not know that stat [first win at Montana in 32 years]. I know I had not beaten the Griz here. We won the Big Sky here [Dalhberg Arena] when I was at Idaho State, but that was against Northern Arizona. It was a long time coming for me. I have spent a lot of bus rides from here not being too happy. I am really proud of my team tonight. I thought they came in and played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm."

On play in the first quarter
"I thought we did a great job of taking away their post-up game. Karlee Wilson's on-ball defense was tremendous. It really took Montana out of its rhythm. The point guard could not sit there and get calls from the bench. She had her hands full with Karlee. She was all over her like an angry hornet. She was just on her and it really took them out of rhythm. She almost single handedly disrupted their entire offense."

On play of Karlee Wilson
"If I would have played her a little more in that last quarter she might have got that triple-double. She was passing the ball extremely well. She can always get in there and get those rebounds. It is amazing what she does for her size. She took her shot when she had it. She has been shooting really well. She shot well at the shoot-a-round today. I thought they [Montana] might give her some looks and she made them pay."

On third quarter
"I thought we were really loose. I thought we were playing the way we wanted to play. We were hitting the open 3 when it was there. We were able to get out and run on the break and spread the floor. To see us play like that is what we want to do. I was really happy with our play tonight and in that quarter in particular."

Upcoming
Idaho will continue in Montana, heading to Bozeman for a Saturday match up with Montana State. The Bobcats are 9-4 on the season, starting the Big Sky season 2-1. MSU squeaked by Eastern Washington on Thursday with an 88-83 win. The Bobcats were led by Peyton Ferris and her 30 points.

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