MOSCOW, Idaho—It took all 40 minutes for the Vandal women's basketball team to earn its fifth straight win Thursday night at the Cowan Spectrum. The Vandals led by 16 at halftime and were able to withstand Portland State's second-half comeback, holding off for the 61-60 win. 

Idaho (11-10, 7-3) has not lost since its Jan. 12 visit to Eastern Washington. The current winning streak is the longest since the Vandals rattled off 10 straight wins in 2013-14 en route to winning the Western Athletic Conference.

How it Happened
Idaho's offense was slow to start on Thursday. The Vandals scored just seven points in the first six minutes of the opening quarter. The Vandals fell behind 8-7 midway through the quarter. The Vikings were able to extend the lead to 11-7 with 3:28 to play, but the Vandals got late contributions from Mikayla Ferenz and Isabelle Hadden to close the quarter tied at 14. 

Taylor Pierce took control for the Vandals in the second. Idaho outscored the Vikings 29-13 in the quarter, led by Pierce's 14 points. She hit four 3's in the second quarter, including a span of 3 straight to get the Vandals offense on track. Idaho Shot 12-of-16 (75.0 percent) from the floor and went 5-for-7 from 3. The Vandals closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run, capped by Hadden's wide-open layup.  

Portland State (11-9, 5-4) mounted its comeback at the start of the second half. The Vikings scored the first five points in the third quarter, while Idaho was 0-for-8 out of the break. PSU used four 3's in the third to outscore Idaho 18-7, cutting the Vandal lead to 50-45. 

The Vikings completed the comeback in the fourth quarter, taking a 53-52 lead inside the first two minutes. Pierce hit her sixth three of the night to put Idaho back up 55-53 with 5:43 to go. The game stayed within one possession the rest of the way. Portland State claimed two separate leads in the final five minutes, but Idaho's defense came through in the clutch. The Vandals held the Vikings to 0-for-5 in the final 2:48, including three misses in the final minute of play. 

Pierce led the Vandals with 22 points on the night. Geraldine McCorkell and Hadden also hit double-figures. McCorkell ended with 13 points and matched her career-best with six assists. Hadden went 5-of-9 from the field to record 10 points. 

Sidney Rielly led Portland State with 20 points.

Keys
The Vandal defense stepped up big for Idaho on a night when the offense was not its usual self. Despite being outscored 33-18 in the second half it was the defense that stepped up in the key moments, especially in the fourth quarter. 
Idaho finished the game with a frustrating 0-for-6 showing in the fourth quarter. It was the defense that did not break in the final minutes of play, getting stop after stop in the clutch. 

Quotes
Head Coach Jon Newlee
Overall thoughts
"It was really kind of a tale of two halves for us from an offensive standpoint. Obviously, we go 43 in the first half and looking pretty good. Then for whatever reason, we kind of got back on our heels in that second half and had some shots rim out. I don't think we are shooting with a lot of confidence in stretches. That is way different for us. We have kids that can really shoot it. Luckily, we came and really brought it defensively tonight."

On Taylor Pierce's hot hand in the second
"It was great. I saw her do it for her club team. That is why I brought her here. It was great when Taylor got in her zone. When she gets in that zone, man she's on fire. I just wanted to keep getting her looks, trying to get her touches. I was glad to see her keep letting if fly."

On team's four-quarter defense
"The difference was our stops. We were defending. We rebounded. And we were able to do it without fouling. That was important. We talked at the last timeout. I said 'We have to defend without fouling.' We were not going to let this team win at the free-throw line. I thought it was a great defensive stand by us at the end. We knew they were going to try and get fouled. We were smart about it and went straight up. We did a great job of defending right until the end."

Notes
Idaho's 61 points are the fewest in a win this season…the Vandals handed out 19 assists, second most this season…Idaho's eight turnovers tied for a season low…McCorkell finished the night with five rebounds, moving into 10th in program history…McCorkell's lone 3 moved her into a tie for ninth in Idaho history with 129 career 3's…Idaho did not attempt a free-throw all night…Nejra Solo tied a season-high with three FGM…her three blocks marked a new career-best.

Upcoming
Idaho will look for its sixth consecutive win when Sacramento State comes to town on Saturday. The Hornets fell to 1-8 in the Big Sky after losing to Eastern Washington on Thursday.