What basketball teams across the state have prepared for all season is here: the area tournaments.

For most teams it will take just one win to advance to the sub-state round. For others, however, it will take two.

Regardless, it’s time to start lacing up those shoes. The dance is about to begin.

Class 1A, Area 11

The Lady Thunder breezed through the area schedule of the regular season only losing to Ragland, but despite being the No. 2 seed, JCA won’t enter the tournament with much momentum on its side.

The week before the area tournament saw the Lady Thunder drop two games: Cedar Bluff and Wellborn.

The good news is neither of those teams are in JCA’s area.

All Jacksonville Christian has to do is defeat Sacred Heart on Thursday to make it to Saturday’s final.

JCA has won the past two meetings by at least 30 points.

Class 3A, Area 10

This area is one of the handful across the state that has six teams.

What that means is for the teams that finish near the bottom of the area, it will take a little more to make it to the sub-state round of the playoffs.

One of those teams is White Plains.

With its area finish, the Lady Wildcats must take part in a play-in game of sorts.

White Plains will take on Weaver. The winner of that game, which was played on Monday and not complete by the News’ press time, will advance to Thursday’s round of the tournament.

The winner of those Thursday games earn the sub-state berth.

That task for White Plains is a tough one.

While White Plains has defeated Weaver twice already this season, neither win was a clear-cut victory. In the first meeting, White Plains earned a 39-30 victory; the second time, it was only five points, 59-54.

If White Plains could pull off the three-peat, a task of monumental proportions will lay in front of it.

The winner of the White Plains-Weaver contest gets top-seeded Glencoe. White Plains has not come within 30 points of Glencoe this season in its two meetings, both which came before the new year.

Pleasant Valley, however, has a little bit easier of a task, but it’s easy wouldn’t exactly describe it.

The Lady Raiders have to defeat Piedmont to earn a trip to the area finals. The game is scheduled for Thursday at Glencoe at 7:30 p.m.

Pleasant Valley fell to Piedmont 71-30 in the first meeting, but closed that gap to 54-41 the last time the two teams met in area play on Jan. 20.

To turn that corner will be tough, as Pleasant Valley has lost four of its past five, but in sports – as we all know – nothing is ever impossible.