Things have not been the same since Washington went 2-1 in the J.H. Rose Christmas Tournament. The Lady Pack downed North Lenoir and a good 4-A team in South Central. Since then, though, Washington has won just one 2-A Eastern Plains Conference game and a non-league meeting with a 2-14 Jones Senior squad.

The team bottomed out at home against Farmville Central. Washington had played the talented Lady Jaguars close at their house back on Jan. 6.

Farmville Central earned a 52-46 win in that encounter, and dismantled Washington on its court on Friday. Meghan Moore made a free throw with 26 ticks left in the first half. That was the only point the Lady Pack scored in the first 16 minutes of play. The game was already out of reach as they went into the intermission trailing, 37-1.

They went on to lose 53-10.

Of course, things could only get better from there. Kizoria Redmond hit a 3-pointer in the fourth and made a foul shot as the running clock expired. It was the only thing that stopped Washington from scoring in single digits.

Once pegged to compete for a conference crown, the league has slow slipped away from the Lady Pack. It started with a 52-24 loss to Southwest Edgecombe in their opener on Jan. 3. The Lady Cougars remain perfect in the EPC.

“I’ve got to relieve some of the pressure from the girls,” coach Ralph Biggs said. “They’ve been under a lot of stress. I’ve got to find a way to relieve that and let them play basketball. They’re very tight. I’ve got to find a way to loosen them up and let them have fun playing basketball.”

Washington’s three other league losses prior to Friday have all been by close margins. The girls came up short by two possessions at Beddingfield and at home against defending 2-A champion North Pitt. They only lost by a point at North Johnston on Jan. 20.

“Losing close games is very hard,” Biggs said. “You lose by a lot, you kind of throw it away, but in close games, you always think about what you could have done. I think that put a lot of wear and tear on them.”

There’s been stress on Biggs, too. He’s been spread thin since taking over as interim coach for the boys’ teams.

“I hope it’s not factoring in, but it’s something I’ve got to look at,” Biggs said.

A top-three finish in the conference isn’t completely out of reach. It’ll be a tall order, though. Three of their four remaining games are against the league’s three best in Southwest Edgecombe, North Johnston and North Pitt.

However, winning out against those clubs would knock them down as Washington tries to climb back up. Perhaps Friday’s lopsided loss could be a turning point. It’s impossible for them to win the EPC at this point, so having that expectation off their shoulders could help the girls loosen up throughout the final stretch.

“We hit bottom,” Biggs admitted. “We got that out of our way. We saw the worst we could be and we’ve got to work to be the best we can be. Whenever you’ve got another game to play, that’s a positive.”