THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, February 25, 2015

At the conclusion of Saturday's state 3A girls basketball tournament, Timberlake coach Matt Miller joked about comparisons between his Tigers squad - which fell in the state championship game for the fourth time in five years - and the Buffalo Bills - who lost four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Well, maybe.

TIMBERLAKE ADVANCED to its fourth title game in as many appearances by romping past defending champion Filer 67-44, keyed by a 24-of-48 shooting night at Skyview High in Nampa.

Saturday, the Tigers weren't able to recapture that, shooting 11 for 59 in a loss to Sugar-Salem in the title game at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

"Last year, we shot 23 percent in this game," Miller said. "There's got to be a little bit of nerves and with it being a new venue, it's not familiar for us."

Timberlake shot 10-of-52 in a 44-36 loss to Filer in the 2014 state title game.

In 2012, Timberlake shot 15 of 47 in a 64-47 title game loss to Marsh Valley. In its first attempt at a championship in 2011, Timberlake shot 16 of 39 - its best of all four title games - but came up short 48-44 to Sugar-Salem in overtime.

"We haven't shot well here in the past," said Miller of the Idaho Center. "But I'm proud of the kids. They did a great job this weekend, but just came up a little bit short."

All four of the teams that have advanced to the title game, each has had its own identity.

The 2011 team, led by Cassie Thompson, was expected to get to the title game. Thompson is wrapping up her college career this year as a senior at the University of Portland.

That group in 2012, Miller added, was a little bit of a surprise.

After missing the state tournament in 2013, they were back in 2014 and came up short to Filer in the title game.

WITH ANOTHER year of experience, Timberlake could very well be right back in the same spot next year.

"We're super excited for next season," junior guard Payten Rhodes said. "We're going to work super hard this summer, play in tournaments together and hopefully be in this same position next year."

In a year of injuries, Timberlake had to rely on a group of freshmen again, with Lilly Kelley, Shelby Starr and Kayle Jezek seeing valuable minutes throughout the year.

"I love them all so much," said sophomore guard Allison Kirby. "They're so amazing. They do the little things right when the coach asks them to. It's awesome to have kids like that on the court with you."

"Our fans, our administration, our parents, they're all top notch," Miller said. "And that's the reason we've got such great kids. We never have any issues with them, and that's because they've got great parents behind them."

"Wait until next year" is a phrase that gets used a little too often when a team comes up short of their goal of a championship.

Sure, they've missed a lot of shots at a championship in recent years.

Judging by the attitudes of the players and coaches following Saturday's game, don't count on that happening much longer.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.