The Washington girl’s basketball team lost on the hardwood to Farmville Central on Friday, 67-60, but defeated the Jaguars in a postgame coin flip to qualify for the playoffs.

The Pam Pack entered Friday’s match in third place in the 2A Eastern Plains Conference. Farmville Central needed a win to force a tie and a chance at a postseason berth.

“We just couldn’t seem to find any kind of rhythm offensively or defensively in the first half,” said head coach Allison Jones. “We settled in a little bit in the second half, but we just had an off night. We shot poorly from the floor. I know we shot way less than 50 percent, but we shot well from the free throw line.”

Attempting to capitalize in transition, guards Timia Ebron and Dina Redmond were met with an aggressive and tight full-court press from the Jaguars. Turnovers and exhaustion were the result, as the Pam Pack struggled to stop the Jaguars’ offense.

“We tried several things and the bottom line is we tried to dribble against the trap too much, Jones said. “We had a hard time finding the middle on that press, which is what we needed to do to get down the floor.”

A 7-0 Washington run before the half shrunk the Jaguars lead to 10 points heading into the break. The Pam Pack would begin to find their rhythm in the second half, but Farmville’s Chrisia Duncan and freshman Qyinesha Pettaway prevented second-chance points with hard-nosed rebounding.

Blount’s perimeter game, an attribute that’s factored into so many close Pam Pack victories this season, couldn’t cut the lead to a single possession over the final minutes.

It was another double-digit scoring night for the Pam Pack stars, Blount finishing with 22 points and junior Shona Midgette ending with 13.

With the win, the opportunity to play in the postseason tournament resided on a coin flip after the game between Farmville and Washington.

“It is our first year in the conference, and we finished tied for third,” Jones said. “It’s been three years since the girls have gone to the playoffs. We’re in there, and that’s something that these girls should be proud of. They put themselves in the position to be in the mix.”

Washington won the coin flip and will play in first round of the tournament starting Monday.