Washington’s basketball teams wrapped up its home-and-home series with former 2-A Eastern Plains Conference foe Farmville Central on Tuesday. Both squads fell short as the boys were railroaded, 82-54, and the girls lost 66-48.

Both Pam Pack squads know how tough it is to play in Farmville. For the Lady Pack to have staved off the Lady Jaguars, 69-65, at home last week was an early-season feather in its cap. Farmville Central dealt Washington a devastating 53-10 home loss last season.

Even though Washington’s record sits at .500, the success the girls have enjoyed thus far is a direct product of their chemistry. Their offense works best using its speed. Starting on the defensive end of the court, Daria Jones or Hailey Respass will haul in a rebound and pass out to one of the twin seniors — either Tierra or Cierra Wiggins — and the two will break down the court for an easy layup.

“It’s second hand after a while,” coach Ralph Biggs said. “They’ve done it so many times that it’s second nature to them.”

The girls have grown each year from a chemistry standpoint. The three seniors — Respass and the Wiggins twins — have played together for a few years now. Then, factor in another year for talented juniors like Jones and Kizoria Redmond to learn everyone’s tendencies, and the Lady Pack has a solid squad.

Seeing that team’s chemistry highlights some of the boys’ shortcomings in that regard. They lost six seniors from last year’s team that only mustered four wins. Among those was leading scorer Sharwan Staton, who facilitated the team’s offense.

There are talented players on the Pam Pack squad. Nazzir Hardy averaged 8.6 points per game last year. Thomas Edwards has shown strides in his shooting and post play early this year, and Tayevon Blackledge has also shown creativity.

Now Biggs is waiting for a leader to emerge from the group.

“I think we need a leader on the court,” he said. “If we get a leader on the court, there’s going to be a huge jump for what we’re trying to do. That’ll really push us to another level.”

Biggs thinks senior Jaquez Ruffin may be the man for the job.

“He’s a positive leader. A leader in the right way,” Biggs said. “Jirah Woolard is trying his best. He’s coming along as a leader, but naturally he’s a quiet guy. Those two are really trying to lead for us.”

It won’t happen overnight. It took Washington’s girls a little time to settle into their roles this season after they lost nine seniors. They’ve figured it out and so will their male counterparts.