The Everett women's basketball team sits in fifth place (7-7) in the NWAACC North Division, two-and-a-half games behind Whatcom Community College with just two games to go.

The Trojans got a chance to play Whatcom on Feb. 18 in Everett and kept the game close at halftime losing 23-26, but Whatcom pulled away down the stretch beating the Trojans 46-57.

"Everybody got tired to be honest," Maddie Molenda said. "We probably shouldn't have been tired this late in the season, but it happens."

Being tired could have been a big factor in the Trojan's shooting efforts as they shot just over 27 percent from the field including 23 percent in the second half.

That fatigue also showed from the 3-point line where the Trojans went two for 19 in the game with freshman guard Morgan Thomas going zero for seven and freshman Karissa Tri going zero for five.

A couple of the players say that they have struggled to shoot this season because they don't shoot enough during practice to prepare them for the game.

"It doesn't help when you have the second group out there imitating the other team and those people are the ones getting the shooting in," Molenda said. "So our first team doesn't get as many chances, they are just working on the plays and what not."

"We don't really do a lot of shooting drills," Chelsea Johnson said. "Not really any shooting drills really, I don't think we do enough."

Whatcom shot 17 percent better from the field than the Trojans while also collecting more rebounds on their way to the convincing victory.

"Our help defense wasn't so great," Johnson said. "We didn't help the helper very well."

With a win against Whatcom, the Trojans would have been only a half-game behind them for the fourth and final seed.

Both Molenda and Johnson believe that the team chemistry also is not as good as it has been in years past.

"Physically we are very strong," Molenda said. "But we are not very mentally strong... we can't let outside factors get to us." Molenda added, "People this year compared to last year haven't tried as hard to become a whole, and people still butt heads in practice even this late in the season."

"For the most part I think we get along," Johnson said. "It is just the little things really, and I think everyone is frustrated with losing ... it is always better when you are winning."

Molenda says that the team should try harder to come closer off the court as well.

"I don't think we started off the season trying to be a team as much and thought it would just come naturally," Molenda said. "I think we need more hanging out time, like some of the girls on the team I don't see outside of practice."

Now the Trojans are all but mathematically eliminated from the NWAACC tournament after they have been on top of the North Division the past two seasons.

The Trojans will need to win both of their games against Edmonds Community College (0-13) and Peninsula Community College (10-3), while Whatcom loses the rest of their games if the Trojans hope to make the tournament.

"It is all just hopes and wishes now," Johnson said. "Hoping certain teams [win] and certain teams [lose]."