Washington may not have pulled off the upset Friday, but have certainly shown the team is ready for a postseason run.

The Pam Pack will be in the playoffs for a second consecutive year, this time riding a wave of momentum. In the 2016-17 campaign, Washington finished the season with a similar 14-12 record, but lost its final four games of the season.

This time around, Washington came into the Eastern Carolina Conference finals winning six of its last eight games and against a Kinston team who won by 35 and 30 in two regular-season meetings, pushed the top seed in the East to its limit in Ayden-Grifton before falling 52-47.

Pam Pack coach Ralph Biggs said the strategies have remained the same, but the execution has improved tremendously during the run.

“We’ve been getting better as the season’s gone on and continued to fight,” Biggs said. “We haven’t done anything different planning-wise, we’re just coming together at the right time.”

Washington finished tied for second in ECC play by going 8-4, but all of its conference losses were by 18 or more, including consecutive 30-point defeats to North Lenoir and Kinston before a less-than-inspiring 41-38 win over West Craven in the regular-season finale. In the ECC tournament though, the Pam Pack defeated the Eagles 50-40 Tuesday before taking down No. 2 South Lenoir 48-46.

Against Kinston, Washington never trailed by more than seven and even had a 35-33 advantage midway through the third before the Vikings went on a 9-0 run to establish control. Still, the Pam Pack got within three in the final minute with a chance to tie but a pair of crucial turnovers and free throws on Kinston’s end sealed it.

“We’ve got to keep playing hard all the time,” Biggs said. “We had a couple of opportunities late, but have to control what we can.”

Washington has certainly made strides during its run, which started after a 74-44 loss to Kinston Jan. 16.

“We’ve turned things around a lot, playing more serious,” Pam Pack guard Cierra Wiggins said. “We have to continue playing hard and hustling throughout, staying ready for whatever.”

Cyntavea Blackledge has fit the example, especially of late. The junior guard started most of the season, but has come off the bench to deliver a major impact. The sharpshooter had 21 points against South Lenoir Wednesday and followed with 22 against Kinston Friday.

“It’s a different point of view coming off the bench,” Blackledge said. “Sometimes I’ll get nervous when I start, but off the bench I can see more of what I can do to help my teammates and whenever I’m feeling it, I’ll take the shot.”

Now Washington has the opportunity to make noise in the NCHSAA 2A postseason, something the team doesn’t take lightly.

“We’re going to be more aggressive and keep playing the way we know how,” Wiggins said.