NAMPA — Highland collected its warm-up shirts and water bottles before disappearing into the tunnel of the Ford Idaho Center.

The Rams ran to their locker room, leaving behind another first-round loss at the 5A state tournament. Highland couldn’t keep pace with Timberline in the second half Thursday at the Ford Idaho Center and lost 48-40. Highland hasn’t won its opening-round game at state since 2013.

After cutting Timberline’s lead to 32-31 with 1 minute, 59 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Highland (18-9) missed its final two shots of the third quarter and 15 of its 17 shots in the fourth quarter, allowing Timberline to slowly pull away for the win.

The Rams’ first made field goal of the fourth came at the 3:01 mark on a 3-pointer by Meghan Calley, pulling the Rams within 41-35. Makenna Baker then converted two free throws with 1:44 remaining in the fourth, cutting the Rams’ deficit to 41-37. Highland never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

“We’ve struggled in the fourth quarter,” Highland senior Kimberly Hawes said. “I don’t know if that’s mental. It’s something we have to work through as a team.”

Highland was outscored 16-9 in the fourth as Timberline shot 2 of 6 from the field and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. The Wolves made seven of their final eight shots from the charity stripe.

The Rams finished the game ice cold, including missing a pair of shots in the paint while trailing 41-37 with just over a minute left to play in the game. Highland shot 28.8 percent from the field and 20.8 percent on triples for the game.

“We had some great looks,” Highland coach Gino Mariani said. “We shoot every day and knock down shots. We have to figure out a way to finish the fourth quarter. It’s killing us now. ... We have to win the fourth. We haven’t done that.”

Baker was silenced Thursday, scoring two points on 0-of-15 shooting. The senior guard came in with 10 points or more in 25 of 26 games, including 11 consecutive games of 10 points or more. Baker also came in averaging 18.2 points per game.

The senior guard generated open looks Thursday, but the shots did not fall. Baker tallied a game-high seven assists.

“We need her to score,” Mariani said. “It wasn’t there tonight. I know she is a better player. She is going to be the biggest critic on herself. I just want her to come back and finish her career strong.”

Timberline’s Ava Ranson left the game with an ankle injury with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter and returned with 1:01 left to play in the third. The Rams cut Timberline’s lead from 29-25 to 32-31 while Ranson was on the bench.

Ranson was limited when she returned, but the guard still contributed, scoring two points in the fourth quarter. Ranson was 5 of 13 from the field before the injury.

Ranson finished with a game-high 16 points.

“She was a big part of their team,” Highland senior Mallori Vawdrey said. “There were some times where we didn’t stop the ball when she crossed halfcourt. For the most part, we did a pretty good job defending her.”

Timberline missed its first 11 shots from the field as Highland jumped out to a 9-0 advantage in the first quarter. Highland took a 12-8 lead after the first frame before Timberline made 7 of 10 shots from the field in the second quarter to take a 24-23 advantage at halftime.

“We were rolling,” Mariani said. “The confidence was there. It was a back-and-forth game.”

Ranson scored 11 points in the first half on 4-of-10 shooting. The Montana State verbal commit scored all eight of the Wolves’ first-quarter points.

Baker was 0 of 6 from the field in the first 16 minutes, but Calley and Hawes combined for 13 first-half points to help the Rams stay afloat while their top offensive weapon was silenced. Baker was a facilitator instead, tallying four assists in the first half.

Calley led the Rams with 11 points Thursday, while Mackenna Thayne and Hawes chipped in nine points apiece. Highland plays Meridian on Friday in a loser-out game of the consolation bracket.

“Mackenna was awesome tonight,” Mariani said. “Meghan Calley made some shots.”

TIMBERLINE 48, HIGHLAND 40

Timberline 8 16 8 16 — 48

Highland 12 11 8 9 — 40

Timberline (48) Ranson 16, McHargue 10, Thomas 4, Carter 3, Ascuena-Mercil 8, Glancey 5, Walsh 2.

Highland (40) Vawdrey 3, Baker 2, Farrer 4, Calley 11, Hawes 9, Maughan 2, Thayne 9.

HIGHLAND/TIMBERLINE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS