The Ballard High School girls basketball team broke a two-game losing streak and earned its first conference victory by out-toughing Bothell Jan. 8.

At the end of the first quarter, the Beavers found themselves down 21-8.

Coach C.J. Sealey said the team lacked aggressiveness from the start and stopped playing defense when the offense was struggling.

Sealey said she told her players they better start playing defense the rest of the way.

"They just rose to the occasion," she said. "They played really, really tough."

The Beavers played their way back to take a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but Bothell was able to force overtime tied at 53 apiece.

Sealey said overtime was when Ballard's physicality paid off as the team gritted out a 56-54 win.

"It was good for us to win a tough, tough battle like that," she said.

Junior Theresa Moriarty had a game-high 20 points in what Sealey said was a fantastic performance leading the team.

Junior Elena DeWeese added 12.

Ballard is now 1-5 in KingCo and 3-7 overall.

The Beavers will need all the toughness they can muster when they take on Issaquah, a team that is undefeated in the conference and ranked sixth in the state, at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Ballard High School.