Girls basketball playoff preview: Pinecrest Academy at Tattnall Square

Pinecrest Academy first-year coach Ken Lacy helped the Lady Paladins reach the state playoffs for the first time since joining the Georgia High School Association. - photo by Brian Paglia

PA CoachLacy 021915 web — Pinecrest Academy first-year coach Ken Lacy helped the Lady Paladins reach the state playoffs for the first time since joining the Georgia High School Association. - photo by Brian Paglia

PINECREST ACADEMY AT TATTNALL SQUARE

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Records, rankings, seedings: Pinecrest is 18-9, unranked in Class A and the No. 13 seed; Tattnall Square is 26-2, ranked No. 7 and is the No. 4 seed.

Coaches: Ken Lacy, Pinecrest; Todd Whetsel, Tattnall Square

Stats: Pinecrest – 51.3 PPG, 46.3 PAPG; Tattnall – 54.7 PPG, 32.0 PAPG.

What to know: We meet again – sort of. When Pinecrest’s football team made its first playoff appearance since joining the GHSA this past November, it was Tattnall Square that knocked off the Paladins. The season has turned to the hard courts, and yet the scenario is the same: the Lady Paladins are in the GHSA state tournament for the first time in school history, a remarkable turnaround for a team that went 6-20 last season, led by first-year head coach Ken Lacy and a dynamic sister duo of Regina and Mary Margaret Metz. Just like Pinecrest’s football team, the Lady Paladins have Tattnall Square to contend with in the first round of the Class A private school tournament. If the teams’ Jan. 9 meeting – a 57-43 loss for Pinecrest - is any indication, the Lady Paladins are in for a challenge.

What’s next: The winner faces the Stratford Academy-Our Lady of Mercy winner.