MOSCOW, Idaho—Fans got their first look at the 2017-18 Idaho women's basketball team on Saturday. The Vandals hosted Lewis-Clark State College in the team's only exhibition. The Vandals impressed the home-crowd, putting away the Warriors, 82-67.

"I thought we played hard," head coach Jon Newlee commented. "I just wanted them to play hard and with a lot of enthusiasm. I thought it was like a typical exhibition game. Turnovers, bad decisions, not great defense at times. But at times we really locked down and ran some good stuff.

"I thought our young guys did a good job of getting in and just playing hard. It was good to be back on the floor with our veterans, Taylor, Mikayla and Geri."


Idaho got all 11 players in on the action, a goal that Coach Newlee looked to accomplish. The Vandals have five newcomers this season, including four freshmen that will look to get into the mix this season."

"I thought they [freshmen] did well," Newlee added. "It was nice to see them against somebody else who does not know what they are doing in practice. To go up against fresh faces and get them all in at the same time—I thought as a group they played well."

Four Vandals scored in double figures. Junior Mikayla Ferenz led the game with 17 points. Junior Taylor Pierce finished with 15. Senior Geraldine McCorkell and sophomore Isabelle Hadden each scored 10.

The Vandals out rebounded LCSC, 43-36. Idaho was able to get 13 steals and 19 total takeaways. The team did a good job dispersing the ball. Freshman Allison Kirby led the way with five of Idaho's 18 assists.

The Vandals open the regular season on Friday, at Colorado State. The team will be on the road for the first five games on the road. Idaho will have stops at No. 8 Ohio State, Abilene Christian and a two-game tournament hosted at CSUN before returning home.

Idaho's first home game is set for Dec. 1 against No. 25 Washington.

Tickets are on sale now. Visit GoVandals.com/Tickets for more information.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho women's basketball by following the team on @VandalsWBB on Twitter and Instagram. 

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.