As area students are taking a break over the Christmas vacation, many local basketball teams have been in tournament action, preparing for the upcoming 2010 season.

The stakes are higher in the coming new year with division matches slated and everyone looking for their ticket to the Big House.

Houston Lady Hilltoppers

First-year head coach Rakesia Gray has not missed a step in continuing the success brought to the Lady Toppers basketball program built by former coach Dana Buchanan.

Fresh off their 18-2 finish season that led them to Jackson, Houston has jumped out to an impressive 10-3 start and have been battled tested with back-to-back three-point wins over Alcorn Central and Corinth along with a pair of hard-fought losses to Aberdeen and defending Class 1A Champion McAdams.

The Lady Toppers open with three-straight region games against the Kosciusko Lady Whippets, Amory Lady Panthers, and Caledonia Lady Confederates. A strong start to the second half of the season would put Houston in the driver's seat when it comes to earning the number one seed in the region tournament.

Houston will close out January by participating in the Robertson Sportswear Classic before traveling to Louisville for their final region game and closing the regular season on the road against Calhoun City.

Houston Hilltoppers

While the Lady Toppers are off to an impressive start, the Toppers look to make a strong surge into the 2010 half of the season and make major waves in the hunt for the Class 4A title.

Houston opens with a tough match-up against Hernando in the North Pontotoc Premier Printing Classic on January 2 before opening region play at home on Jan 8 against the vastly improved Kosciusko to start a crucial three-game run for the Toppers.

After their home game against Kosciusko, the Toppers will travel to vastly improved Amory on Jan 12 and will return home against traditional power Caledonia to cap off a stretch of games that could put them into running for the number one seed inside region play.

Non-region games against in-county rivals Houlka and Okolona along with Columbus and Calhoun City will more than prime the Toppers for post-season play.

Houlka Lady Wildcats

The Houlka Lady Wildcats open the second half of the season with a back-to-back crucial region games against the Vardaman Lady Rams and the Okolona Lady Chieftains where the winners would be in the driver's seat to earn one of the top two spots heading into the region tournament.

Unlike East Webster, the Lady Wildcats will enjoy a large majority of the 2010 season in the comforts on their home floor with 6 of their final 9 games in Houlka. They will open with five-straight home games against Vardaman, Okolona, East Webster, Houston, and Smithville before hitting the road for three games in a row against West Oktibbeha, Nettleton, and Tremont before closing out the season at home against Pontotoc.

Houlka picked up momentum heading into the Christmas break winning two out four games before dropping a 50-49 decision to former region foe Ingomar Lady Falcons. They have no time for a Christmas break hangover opening with Vardaman and Okolona in games that could put the Lady Wildcats as high as the number one seed or as low as number four in the region tournament.

Non-region games against Class 4A Houston, Class 3A Nettleton, and Class 4A Pontotoc will have the Lady Wildcats tested and could prove to be games to get the ladies in their traditional post-season form.

Houlka Wildcats

The Houlka Wildcats will be in the mix of things in Region 4-1A but will be faced with a tough region test early with a January 8 match-up against region favorite Okolona before taking on Smithville and West Oktibbeha in back-to-back region games to determine the Cats' seeding in the region tournament.

The Wildcats games against the vastly-improved Smithville on January 22 and West Oktibbeha on Jan 26 appears to be the key to earning favorable seeding in the region tournament.

Non-region games against Nettleton and Pontotoc to close the regular season will have Houlka battled tested for the rough and rugged post-season play in what the Wildcats hopes will be a deep run in a very strong Class 1A North State tournament.

Okolona Lady Chieftains

The start to the 2010 season will not be an easy one for the Okolona Lady Chieftains with region road games against Smithville, Houlka, and Tremont before coming home against the Class 3A top-ranked Belmont Lady Cardinals.

The early surge of tough competition will be the key for the Lady Chieftains five-straight home stretch against region Vardaman and West Oktibbeha and non-region foes Calhoun City, Houston, and Bruce before closing the season on the road against Shannon.

The early region stretched will be a key portion of the season when it comes to Okolona's run towards post-season seeding as Quindella Ford and company are eyeing a strong push into February.

Okolona Chieftains

The Calhoun City game has always been a jumping point for Okolona and after David Gardner's buzzer-beating shoot gave the Chieftains a 61-59 victory things are looking good for the second half of the season.

Okolona opens the 2010 season against the East Oktibbeha Titans in the East Oktibbeha Classic on January 2 and will hit the road for three-straight region games against Smithville, Houlka, and Tremont.

The Chieftains will have a three-day run against opponents yet to be determined in the Aberdeen Tournament on Jan 14 and 16 while taking on Belmont on Jan 15 that will test the team when it comes to the rough road to the Class 1A Championship later this season in Jackson.

Home games against Vardaman and West Oktibbeha will close out region play while home games against Calhoun City, Houston, and Bruce along with a road game against Shannon will have the Chieftains battled tested heading into post-season play.

East Webster Lady Wolverines

The Lady Wolverines picked up a 43-33 win over the Ackerman Lady Indians in mid-December and hope to use that spark to turn the second half of the season into a stellar run through Region 2-2A play.

An important key for East Webster will be winning on the road as 8 of their final 12 games of the season will be away from the friendly confines of Cumberland with non-region road games against Montgomery County, Houlka, and West Oktibbeha will have the ladies battled tested for their region road games against Hatley, Calhoun City, and West Lowndes.

The Lady Wolverines will play host to Coffeeville on January 9 before returning home for their January 15 region opener against Hamilton Lady Lions and will host region favorite Bruce Lady Trojans to close out January.

Region 2-2A appears to be extremely competitive with the number two through six spots in the being wide open for the taking as Jasmine Hampton and the Lady Trojans look to be the early favorite to claim the region championship.

East Webster Wolverines

The Wolverines closed the 2009 season on the main stage of the FedEx Forum, but dropped a 66-33 decision to the Baldwyn Bearcats -- a team expected to contend for the Class 2A title.

The game was a measuring stick for East Webster as they look to rebound in second half of the season.

Starting with three-straight non-region games will be a tough opening against French Camp, Winona, and Montgomery County with things not getting much easier in their first home game of 2010 against the Coffeeville Pirates, but it's an opening that will have the Wolverines primed for region play.

The Calhoun City Wildcats and West Lowndes Panthers appear to be the early season favorites to contend for the region championship, but the Wolverines and Bruce Trojans are considered to be a pair of formidable dark-horses when it comes to vying for the tournament championship.

Vardaman Lady Rams

The Vardaman Lady Rams return a lot of players from last season and high hopes for a strong surge in the second half of the season.

The Lady Rams will open with a crucial region game against the Houlka Lady Wildcats, a team they defeated 47-44 to close out the 2009 half of the season. They will host Bruce, Caledonia, Calhoun City and West Point in the Tater Tournament January 7-9 before jumping back into region play.

Back-to-back region games against Tremont (Jan 11) and rival Smithville (Jan 12) could prove to be a spring board towards earning the top seeding in the region tournament heading into region battles against West Oktibbeha (Jan 15) and Okolona (Jan 19). A tough non-region close to the regular season will prove valuable in preparing for post-season play.

Vardaman Rams

Coach Billy Dill hoped to see his team improve from week-to-week and after jumping on the hardwood before knocking the mud out of their cleats the Rams have shown signs of quickly adapting and improving through the first six games of the season.

Vardaman will have even less time to get geared up for the 2010 season as they will jump into region play January 5 on the road against Houlka before hosting their three-day Tater Tournament. The Rams will play five-straight region games before closing the season with five-straight tough non-region games against Bruce (Jan 26), Water Valley (Jan 28), Calhoun City (Jan 29), Caledonia (Feb 2), and South Pontotoc (Feb 5).

Chris Armstrong and company will looking to continue to make positive strides towards the February when they will host the region tournament.