Northridge, CA - In the final contest leading up to Big Sky play, the Idaho Vandal women's basketball team raced to a 68-52 road victory over Cal State Northridge in the Premier America Credit Union Arena.

Trailing 33-35 at the half, Idaho needed to come out swinging in the third quarter to close the gap, and they did just that, rattling off 25 points and forcing nearly as many turnovers (7) as CSUN had points (8) in the quarter.

The defensive dominance continued for the Vandals heading into the fourth quarter, as they held the Matadors to 3/13 shooting and once again forced nearly as many turnovers (8) than points surrendered (9).

The difference ultimately came down to the effort on the glass, with the Vandals out-rebounding the Matadors 53-38 in the final tally. Idaho held the lead for nearly 30 full minutes of game action (29:53), due in no small part to the rebounding efforts and forcing 23 CSUN turnovers.

Offensively, the Vandals were led by Hope Hassman (18), Anja Bukvic (14), and Sarah Brans (10) all scoring in double figures. Jennifer Aadland was a force on the glass, collecting ten rebounds, eight of which on the defensive side to end Matador scoring drives. Ana Pinheiro was a defensive stalwart as well with eight rebounds and four total blocks on the night.

The victory moves the Vandals to 8-3, the most non-conference wins in a season since the 2015-16 season. Riding this momentum, they will begin Big Sky competition with a pair of road games in the Treasure State, taking on the Montana State Bobcats in Bozeman on Thursday, January 2 and the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday, January 4.