NAMPA – Pulling off two monumental wins and playing in the state tournament for the first time takes a lot of energy.

Malad was drained by the second half of the 2A state title game and got outscored 25-12 in the final two quarters on its way to a 56-34 loss Saturday against Ririe at the Ford Idaho Center.

“As you’re working and pushing, you use everything you have in each game. So to recover, it’s harder,” said Malad senior forward Hanah Peterson, who averaged 11.7 points per game at state. “You just basically run out of gas. We were trying.”

The Dragons, who featured no players with state tournament experience, were within seven points near the midway point of the third quarter before the Bulldogs shifted to another gear.

Ririe went up 47-26 about four minutes into the fourth quarter after a 14-0 run, highlighted by a Kaylee Brown 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs ahead by double digits the rest of the way, 38-26.

“We were attacking. We’re trying to get to the free-throw line.

“We were trying to get inside,” said Malad coach Jeremy Jones, whose team had four assists and 28 turnovers.

“The momentum started changing when we started having a lot of turnovers, and we weren’t even getting shots.”

Ririe (25-2) held Malad (19-9) to a 23.8 field goal percentage for the game, more than good enough to secure its first state title in team history. The Bulldogs have been on the precipice in recent seasons, collecting three top-three finishes at state in the last four years.

While the Bulldogs fought to take the final step, Malad’s appearance at the Ford Idaho Center is the beginning of its journey to the top. The Dragons had not made it to the state tournament since 2012.

To get to the state title game, Malad beat two teams in Soda Springs and Melba that had five losses combined, nearly as many as the Dragons’ four losses suffered against Soda Springs alone.

Although Malad had tears of sadness Saturday, they had watery eyes Friday, too, but for what they had achieved, ending a 13-game losing streak against Soda Springs and advancing to the state title game, where they had a chance to clinch their second-ever state title (1993).

“Every tension, every feeling that you have, it’s just released,” Peterson said. “It’s almost like you can’t control your feelings because you know that you did your best and that you pulled out and that’s just a great feeling.”

Jones wants to make state tournament appearances a regular occurrence. The first-year coach said he knows it can happen because of the success of other Malad girls sports teams, like the volleyball and softball squads that have combined to win five state championships since 2013.

Peterson knows about the success, as part of two state championship-winning volleyball teams. But as much as the senior has cherished the achievements, she said there is so much more to it.

“It’s always great to win and come out on top, but I feel like through all the experiences, it’s not the winning that you remember,” Peterson said. “It’s the people and experiences that got you there, like pulling together as a team. We feel like family. We feel like sisters. We pull together. Even when we’re down, they pick you up.”

Follow @JeffPapworth