The inaugural TAPPS 2-4A basketball tournament begins tonight at venues across the state with five playoff spots up for grabs in the nine-team district.

Six first-round games will be played tonight — three boys, three girls — between teams seeded 4-9 at the home court of the higher seed. The winners advance to play at Whitehouse’s Wildcat Arena on Friday and Saturday.

The top two seeds have already clinched home playoff games and will play Saturday evening to determine the district champion. The girls final pits Bishop Gorman against Dallas Christian; Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill plays Dallas Christian in the boys final.

The remaining seven squads will battle for three playoff spots. After today’s games, the four remaining teams — including the No. 3 seed, which has a bye — will play in Whitehouse for the last three berths. Friday’s winners clinch playoff spots while the losers play for the fifth and final berth.

Grace Community hosts a doubleheader to highlight tonight’s action. The sixth-seeded Lady Cougars tip off at 6 p.m. against No. 7 Dallas Parish Episcopal. The Cougars, who won a three-way tie-breaker for the fifth seed, take on Dallas Shelton at 7:30 p.m.

“The fifth seed is huge,” Cougars coach Neal Welch said Saturday after beating All Saints. “We feel like we should be the fourth seed, but we lost to Gorman at home, we lost to Shelton on the road. So we ended up in the spot we’re in. We’re ready to prove what kind of team we have.”

Also tonight, the Gorman boys head to Brookshire Gym for a rematch against All Saints at 6 p.m. Both teams tied with Grace for fifth, though the Trojans ended up with the sixth seed and the Crusaders the seventh.

The All Saints-Gorman winner takes on third-seeded Parish Episcopal on Friday. The Cougars face either No. 9 Waco Reicher or No. 4 Carrollton Prince of Peace.

The eighth-seeded Lady Trojans travel to Waco to face No. 5 Reicher tonight. The winner faces the No. 9 Dallas Shelton-No. 4 Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill winner on Friday.

Should the Grace girls repeat their 47-22 win over the Lady Panthers, they’d play third-seeded Prince of Peace on Friday.

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TAPPS 2-4A Basketball Tournament

Girls

First round at higher seed; Feb. 15-16 at Whitehouse’s Wildcat Arena

Feb. 12

Game 1: No. 9 Dallas Shelton at No. 4 Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill

Game 2: No. 8 All Saints at No. 5 Waco Reicher

Game 3: No. 7 Dallas Parish Episcopal at No. 6 Grace Community, 6 p.m.

Feb. 15

Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 3 Carrollton Prince of Peace

Feb. 16

Fifth-Place Game: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, noon

Third-Place Game: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 3 p.m.

Championship Game: No. 2 Dallas Christian vs. No. 1 Bishop Gorman, 6 p.m.

Note: Top five teams make playoffs

Boys

First round at higher seed; Feb. 15-16 at Whitehouse’s Wildcat Arena

Feb. 12

Game 1: No. 9 Waco Reicher at No. 4 Carrollton Prince of Peace

Game 2: No. 8 Dallas Shelton at No. 5 Grace Community, 7:30 p.m.

Game 3: No. 7 Bishop Gorman at No. 6 All Saints, 6 p.m.

Feb. 15

Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 3 Dallas Parish Episcopal

Feb. 16

Fifth-Place Game: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 1:30 p.m.

Third-Place Game: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5

Championship Game: No. 2 Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill vs. No. 1 Dallas Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Note: Top five teams make playoffs