After successful regular seasons and strong runs in the region tournament, the Westlake Lions and Lady Lions are ready to do some damage in the Class AAAAA state playoffs.

On Saturday, the Lions will travel to Tifton and face the 20-7 Tifton County Blue Devils. Following a 16-game winning streak to end the regular season and perfect record against teams in Georgia, Westlake (24-3) appeared set to host at least two early round games.

But the Lions couldn’t defeat M.L. King for a third consecutive time this season, falling short 61-59 in the semifinals of the Region 2-AAAAA region tournament last Friday.

The Lady Lions (22-6) went a step further than their counterparts but couldn’t avoid a third straight loss this season to Stephenson in the title game last Saturday despite 36 points from Aisha Turner-Johnson.

“They were the undefeated team in the region,” Westlake girls’ coach Hilda Hankerson said. “It was a real good ballgame and we had nothing to lose.”

Fortunately, the Lady Lions will still have a home game in the first round. They will face Colquitt County (16-11) this weekend and will need another solid outing from Turner-Johnson, who has committed to Clemson.

“She is one of the best guards that we have had at Westlake,” said Hankerson of her McDonald’s All American nominee. “She does what she needs to do as a senior leader. I don’t think there is a guard in the state that can hold her when she starts to penetrate.”

In Class AAA, the Woodward Lady War Eagles (20-9) return to the playoffs after a two-year absence. They will travel to Carrollton (24-4) to face the Lady Trojans this Friday. Thanks to its improved defense and strong play of junior point guard Tiana Grissom, Woodward has won nine of its last 10 games.

“We’ve turned the corner with our defense,” Woodward girls’ coach Jonathan Merrill said. “I’ve always coached you’ve got to start with your defense first and we just had a steep learning curve.”

Meanwhile, Carrollton has won 17 of its last 19 games.

In Class A, the Southwest Atlanta Christian Lady Warriors (25-3) enter the postseason on an 18-game winning streak and the consistently solid point guard play of senior Brandi Wilkey.

On Friday, SACA will host the winner of Tuesday’s preliminary contest between Lakeview Academy and Georgia Military.

Also in Class A but in the boys’ bracket, Landmark Christian (21-5) will meet Providence Christian (18-9) on Saturday.