With the regular season winding down and a playoff spot on the line, the Ballard Beaver girl's basketball team faces a mighty challenge in their five remaining opponents.

Early last week, Ballard (10-6, 5-5) was in fifth place in the KingCo Conference. If they can finish the year among the top eight teams, they'll be in the playoffs.

Last week they lost the first of those five games, 63-45 to a dominating Inglemoor (14-2, 8-2) team, led by the Vikings Ashley Brown and her game high 30 points.

They have games left on Feb. 7 at home against Franklin (7-8, 4-6), defending state champion Garfield (13-3, 10-0) on Feb. 10 at home and Feb. 14 at Roosevelt (13-3, 8-2).

"We have the toughest five games left of anyone out there. So we have some work to do," said Head Coach Karen Blair.

Fortunately for Ballard, the teams below them in the standings all have poor records. They include Franklin, Bothell, Eastlake, Juanita and Lake Washington.

The Beaver need to minimize their mistakes, maximize their execution and play the defensive principals instilled in them by the coaches since training camp began.

For the Beavers, success comes when they play pressure defense, run the floor, control the ball, execute their offense and play as a team.

"I can see the improvement in the varsity from the first couple of weeks. They continue to grow and get better," said Bryan Howisey, the team's other assistant coach who handles the junior varsity team.

Two weeks ago during a 52-30 trouncing of the Juanita Rebels, three Beavers scored in double figures. Senior Charlotte Shannon had 13 points, senior Gillian Huggins 12 and sophomore Evangeline Spracklin had 11.

Shannon has been coming on strong in the second half of the schedule. She led the team with 16 points in the Skyline win.

"Charlotte has been hitting a couple of three's in close games to get us wins," said Jessica Howisey.

Shannon has teamed up with Huggins to form a one-two scoring punch. Huggins is the team's leading scorer with an 11-point average. Both are senior co-captains.

Huggins has been crashing the boards. "Gillian has been a rebounding machine. She is very defensive minded. Defense wins games, rebounding wins championships," said Jessica Howisey.

Evangeline Spracklin has developed her game this season. "She is coming up big defensively for us and offensively she is a solid player," said Jessica Howisey.

All-round athlete Leslie Ellingsen, a junior who also plays soccer and is one of the top softball players in KingCo adds to the mix.

"She is the defensive player we need. We all rub off on that intensity," said Jessica Howisey.

A big surprise on the roster is freshman Brianna Green who has earned the starting point guard role.

Last week during a practice, Green dove after a loose ball and fought with a teammate for possession. Neither player backed down.

"We have some very intense kids. Brianna is intense, she does not back down from anyone. That's the kind of attitude we like. This is what has been instilled in the girls this year," said Blair.

Ballard players are expected to play hard and to stay with the team's game plan.

Blair says if her players do this, the coaches will be happy and the team will continue to learn, grow and improve.

Before each game, coaches write "play hard, play smart, play together," on a black board.

"If we do all these things, we will come out and win," said Jessica Howisey.

Jessica and Bryan Howisey are a husband and wife team. Bryan says working with his wife enables him to see her more often during the workday.

"I enjoy coaching with my husband. It's nice to have him around," said Jessica Howisey. She points out that in the coaching profession there's a lot of time spent apart for couples.

"It's nice to have him in the same gym. Someday hope we can be co-coaches (with one of them being head coach and the other, the assistant). It has helped our relationship," said Jessica Howisey.

Bryan Howisey works with the jv team as they learn Blair's system. "We are learning a lot about the expectations of building a strong program. My job is to get these girls ready for the varsity level in the future. I'm taking Blair's expectations and defensive style and getting it ingrained in these girls so they can make the jump to varsity," he said.