Coming off a pair of big wins on Tuesday night at Jonesboro, the West Memphis basketball teams get a pair of breathers tonight at Lehr Arena.

Paragould visits tonight in the next-to-last home game of the regular season for the Blue Devil squads. The Lady Devils (20-5 overall, 9-2 in the 5A-East Conference) posted a 57-54 win at Jonesboro on Tuesday night, which solidifies their hold on second place in league standings. The West Memphis girls ousted Paragould 47-32 last month in Paragould.

Although head coach Shelia Burns' team has a strong hold on second place, it will take a victory over Mountain Home next Friday night at Lehr Arena to clinch the No. 2 seed in the 5A-East Conference.

First-year Paragould head girls coach Sonja Tate makes her return to Lehr Arena tonight after she served as the Lady Devils' interim head coach last season. Tate is the greatest female player in West Memphis history, but she also holds that distinction at Arkansas State University. She is a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and she is an inaugural member of the West Memphis Sports Hall of Fame.

Head coach Marcus Brown's Blue Devils will not get tested tonight by Paragould. Mark my words.

Brown played his starters less than five minutes last month at Paragould and the Blue Devils still came away with a 79-23 victory.

With a two-game lead and three games still to be played, the Blue Devils are solid favorites to clinch the 5A-East Conference championship.

A league title would pit the Blue Devils (20-4, 10-1) against the No. 4 seed from the West, which will most likely be Beebe, in the Class 5A state tournament on March 3 in Russellville.

And it will also put the Blue Devils into the same bracket as the host team, Russellville, which is a lock to win the 5A-West.