VALDOSTA — State high school basketball playoffs have arrived with both the GHSA and GIAA jumping into action this week.

Playoffs begin Tuesday, but Wednesday will be by far the busiest on the calendar, with Lowndes hosting a doubleheader and Valdosta at home for a single game as both Valwood and Georgia Christian hit the road. GCS’ Lady Generals have a road game Tuesday.

Game time will be 5:30 p.m. Wednesday for the Lowndes Vikettes and Marietta, with the Vikings’ game against Cherokee to follow. Valdosta will tip at 6 p.m. against Etowah.

Top two GHSA Class 6A teams from each region get to host first-round games. Lowndes swept the region championships, which guarantee them a second-round home game as long as they win the first round.

Should everyone survive the first round, Valdosta would likely travel to Buford, unless fourth seed Carrollton pulled an upset. The Vikings would face either second seed Collins Hill or third seed East Coweta. For the Vikettes, it would be East Coweta or Mill Creek. Second-round games are Feb. 21-22.

Lowndes had a rough final week of the regular season, but the Vikettes corrected course in the Region 1-6A tournament at Camden County.

They won their way into the finals 45-34 over Richmond Hill, then defeated Colquitt County 51-39 in the championship game. Camden, which upset the Vikettes Feb. 8 to host the tournament, fell all the way to fourth after a consolation loss to Richmond Hill.

Aryana Thomas and Kaci Demps both reached 1,000 points this year for the 20-5 Vikettes, who reached the final four a year ago.

Marietta, the No. 4 team from Region 5-6A, is 15-13 overall and went 7-5 in the region. An overtime loss to Etowah in the consolation game put them in this position. Four of their region losses were to North Paulding and Cherokee, the region’s top two.

Stopping Marietta will likely mean stopping freshman Leah DeWitt, who averages 25 of their 53.5 points per game. Kyann Senior, a sophomore, averages 12 per contest.

Etowah brings a 21-6 mark to the ‘Cat Cage. The Eagles started the season 6-0 and had another six-game win streak during region. Walton slipped by them (70-64) in the semifinals and Etowah then edged Cherokee, 66-62, to finish third.

The Eagles score plenty. They average 68 points per game, in contrast to the 54 Valdosta gives up. The Wildcats haven’t surrendered as much as 59 points in any game since Christmas.

Valdosta has been led by Jabarri Williams and Brandon Brown, but Braylan Deas has stepped up recently, with a shooting touch inside and out.

Lowndes entered region tournament as a No. 3 seed after forcing a three-way tie for second place in its last game of the regular season. The Vikes tripped No. 2 Tift County in overtime, then survived a back-and-forth contest with No. 1 Valdosta to win the crown, 58-55.

The Vikings held on despite fouling out both Isaiah Camon and Kam Jackson in the championship game. Kaden Brown, Wyatt Ferguson and Tarrell Green Jr. gave Lowndes quality minutes to survive.

A fourth seed from Region 5, the Warriors are 17-11. They went 6-6 in the region, being swept by the top two teams of Wheeler and Walton. Cherokee gives up and scores 60 points per game, though that is skewed by having to face Wheeler, who twice netted 90+ points against them.

Both Georgia Christian teams and the Valwood boys have to travel. Of these, the Georgia Christian boys team has the shortest trip, going to Damascus to take on Southwest Georgia Academy. The Lady Generals play at Briarwood Academy in Warrenton and the Valiants go to Marietta’s Dominion Christian.

The No. 8 seed to the Valiants’ No. 9, Dominion Christian was 15-9 in the regular season. Through their first 21 games, Kaden Cooke was the Knights’ leading scorer at 11.2 points per game.

Valwood has been getting a balanced offense from its players, with Cort Kurrie, Chase Helfer, Jack Morris, Reid McPherson and Richard Hunter all capable of lighting up the scoreboard.

Briarwood’s Lady Buccaneers will be a daunting task for Georgia Christian. The Lady Bucs were 19-7, with three of those losses to Edmund Burke Academy. Another was to Fullington Academy. The good and bad news for GCS is that Briarwood’s leading scorer is listed as an 8th grader.

SGA brings a 15-11 record into Wednesday’s game with the Generals. There should be no problem with a scouting report for either team as they played each other Friday in the district tournament.

Southwest Georgia won the latest game, 57-52, but they split regular season contest. GCS won the first, 67-65, but dropped the second, 75-58. This will be their fourth meeting in 40 days.

GIAA quarterfinals games are at neutral sites in Macon. If any of the locals survive the road trips, the Lady Generals would play Friday and both both boys teams would play Saturday.

Second-round games would match Valwood with No. 1 Brookwood at First Presbyterian Day. GCS’ Generals would also play a No. 1, Heritage of Newnan at Stratford Academy. The Lady Generals would get No. 2 Southwest Georgia Academy at Tattnall Square.