BEULAH — There are always better days ahead.

The Beulah girls’ basketball team is finishing the regular season as one of the top teams in 3A Area 7 after starting the year on a 16-game losing streak. 

The Bobcats could even host the area 7 tournament, depending on the result from Monday night’s Dadeville-B.B. Comer game. 

“It’s like night and day,” Beulah girls head basketball coach Sabrina Milligan said. “Since January 2019 came, it’s like we’ve had a totally different season.”

The Bobcats finished area play Saturday against B.B. Comer with a 63-35 win to improve to 4-2 in area games. Beulah (5-16) won its last four area games and has won five games in a row after losing every game before Jan. 10.

Ten Beulah players got on the board in Saturday’s victory, led by senior guard Kensley Taylor’s 21 points. Brandy Phillips also finished in double digits with 13 points. Myleah Beatty, Estella Llorens, Brandy Phillips, Angelica Calloway, Danielle Williams, Bethany Kiger, Jasmine Bonilla, Savanna Clements and Katie Morris also scored in the win.

“Everyone got a basket [on Saturday] for the first time,” Milligan said. “We had 10 people that scored. Kensley Taylor led us in scoring, and Danielle [Williams] led us in rebounds. We got hot at the right time in the fourth quarter pulling away, and I didn’t even realize until I heard the referee say ‘let the clock run’ that we were up 30 points. We lost on a buzzer-beater up there, but we came back [on Saturday] contributed defensively, and we had a total team effort. One can’t beat five. That’s what basketball is all about.”

Many nights during the Bobcats’ 16-game losing streak, the team only had seven healthy players available. Opposing teams played at a fast pace, wearing Beulah down by the fourth quarter, Milligan said. Now, the team is heading into postseason play with a new outlook.

“We’re peaking at the right time,” she said. “That’s what you want to do. You want to go in the playoffs on a high. The confidence in the girls believing that if they get in there and contribute, anything can happen. When you lose 16 games in a row, it’s tough to keep your team’s spirits up. I keep telling them that we’re there. We’re getting to the top of the hill. Going down is going to be a lot easier than going up. At the right moment, at this time in the season, that’s all you can ask for.”

The Bobcats are scheduled to wrap up the regular season on Thursday at Elmore County.