POCKET PICKED—Ponchatoula’s Theresa Pevey swipes the ball from Mandeville’s Elicia Ocmond (11) as Lady Wave coach Justin Adams, right, looks on during the Wave’s regular-season drive to the district title. Ponchy opens the playoffs at home tonight against district foe Northshore.

The road to the 2008 Ladies Top 28 begins tonight in friendlier confines for four area girls teams.

Ponchatoula, St. Thomas Aquinas, Albany and Holden each open the playoffs with home bi-district games.

In Class 5A, third-seeded Ponchatoula (31-5) entertains District 7-5A rival Northshore (18-9) for the third time this season and Lady Wave head coach Justin Adams said the familiarity between the two ball clubs is one of his major concerns.

"Northshore's not going to look at us like (No. 4 seed) West Monroe, (No. 2 seed) Natchitoches Central or (No. 1 seed) Southwood - they're going to look at us as just Ponchatoula," Adams said. "Northshore's not your average No. 30 seed in a playoff bracket."

In Class 3A, No. 15 seed Albany (22-11) plays host to No. 18 seed Redemptorist (18-7) at 6:30 p.m. Lady Hornets head coach Amanda Faust said back-to-back games against Amite and Loranger to end the regular season has prepared her team for the playoffs. And having home-court advantage takes some of the pressure off of the opener.

"It's a lot easier to play with the crowd behind you," Faust said. "Anyone around here knows when the playoffs hit, the gym packs up. That's going to be a factor."

In Class 2A, 10th-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas (22-10) is in a good frame of mind as it prepares to entertain No. 23 seed Jeanerette (14-16) at 7 p.m.

"We're very confident right now," Lady Falcons interim coach Jazmin Cain said. "We're just going to go in, play hard, do the little things and everything will go from there."

In Class B, seventh-seeded Holden (25-9) is riding high as it entertains No. 26 seed Bethany Christian (16-9) at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Rockets have not lost a game since an eight-point loss to Albany in early January.

"We feel really good about ourselves right now," Lady Rockets head coach Pam Forbes said. "We went to (No. 8 seed) Centerville last week and beat them, and we hope to use that game as a springboard into the playoffs."

CLASS 5A

No. 30 Northshore (18-9) at No. 3 Ponchatoula (31-5)

PONCHATOULA-Ponchatoula, ranked third in the final LSWA poll, was perfect in 7-5A and swept Northshore - one of 5A's two wild-card qualifiers - 62-54 in Slidell and 66-46 in Ponchatoula. The Wave has has racked up a 23-1 record against Class 5A competition. However, that gaudy record means little in this burgeoning rivalry.

"With the rivalry that we've had with Northshore in the past, and the intensity of their games, playing at home makes a big difference," Adams said.

Slowing down the duo of Karissa Claybrook and Jordyn Beaudette will be a priority, Adams said.

"Hopefully, we can force them to try to beat us with people that don't normally score for them," he said.

The Ponchatoula-Northshore winner faces either No. 14 New Iberia (21-12) or No. 19 East St. John (23-13) in the regional round.

CLASS 3A

No. 18 Redemptorist (18-7) at No. 15 Albany (22-11)

ALBANY-The District 10-3A champions will take on a Lady Wolves team that finished second to defending 3A state champion Capitol in District 8-3A.

Faust said Redemptorist has a 6-foot post player that is strong inside along with a pair of good guards. She compared the Lady Wolves to a district rival after getting a scouting report.

"They sound a lot like Amite," Faust said. "I think they look a lot like Amite, judging them with a team we've played before. They have good athletes and a solid basketball team."

The Redemptorist-Albany winner takes on either No. 2 seed Ursuline (27-6) or No. 31 seed Port Allen (9-13) in the regional round.

CLASS 2A

No. 23 Jeanerette (14-16) at No. 10 St. Thomas Aq. (22-10)

The District 9-2A champs will take on a Jeanerette team that finished the season as the District 7-2A runner-up behind top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Donaldsonville.

Cain said the Lady Tigers' post player is the focal point of their team. Jeanerette primarily plays zone defense and mixes in some full court pressure.

"First of all, we have to play solid defense and stay out of foul trouble," Cain said. "We have to up our intensity and do the little things while being patient on offense."

The Jeanerette-STA winner takes on either No. 7 seed Ferriday (28-5) or No. 26 seed Mamou (16-14) in the regional round.

CLASS B

No. 26 Bethany Chr. (16-9) at No. 7 Holden (25-9)

HOLDEN-The Lady Rockets romped to the District 9-B title while Bethany Christian finished fourth in 8-B and picked up one of five wild-card spots. Holden defeated the Lady Lions 39-29 in early December.

Forbes said Bethany struggled in their district, but still can cause her team some problems.

"Bethany does a good job of pushing the ball up the floor and do a good job of running the floor," Forbes said. "Hopefully we can use our man-to-man defense to slow them down."

The Bethany-Holden winner takes on either No. 10 seed Converse (23-16) or No. 23 seed Hosanna Christian (17-16) in the regional round.