John Tyler's J'Michael Jasper (25) gets up high to get the rebound over Nacogdoches player Tucker White (33) during their 16-5A play-in game Friday. ( Lang White / Correspondent )

The anxiety is rising.

With every delay and snow day, they just want to play.

“Everybody’s on edge,” JT girls basketball coach Mike Smith said. “They’re excited to play. They’re excited to be out of school. It’s a lot of emotion right now with everything that’s going on.”

Tyler ISD athletics, indeed sports across all of North Texas, have been postponed, cancelled and rescheduled this week due to treacherous weather conditions.

But through the snow and ice, playoff basketball will be played, eventually.

John Tyler’s girls and boys teams are back in action today after their games originally scheduled for Tuesday were moved to Wednesday.

The 15th-ranked Lady Lions (31-4) face Mansfield Lake Ridge (17-14) in the Class 5A regional quarterfinals today at 5 p.m. from Wills Point High School.

Later at 7:30 p.m., the Lions (19-12) battle No. 22 Marshall (31-1) in a bi-district clash at LeTourneau University’s Solheim Arena in Longview.

With schools closed early on Monday the Lions weren’t able to get a practice in that day but they made up for it on Tuesday, coach Cedeno Clark said.

“We got a great practice in today and the kids are upbeat about facing Marshall and looking forward to the playoffs, whenever we get to it,” Clark said Tuesday evening.

The Mavericks have one loss on the year and provide a formidable task for the Lions, but one they won’t be shy about undertaking.

When these teams met in the season opener in 2013, Marshall won, barely, finishing on top in a 104-101 shootout. The Mavericks also beat JT to open the 2012-13 season, Clark’s first game as head coach.

“Even though our team is totally different from last year’s team, … this an opportunity to pay back for the last two years,” Clark said.

The Lions made the playoffs with a 73-64 win over Nacogdoches, which hit 15 3-pointers. Against the Mavs, they may see a similar shooting barrage from a team that likes to push the tempo.

“They shoot it at the drop of a hat,” Clark said. “They have good guard play; they have a big that’s real solid.

“We’re up for the challenge.”

While the Lions were unable to practice Monday, the Lady Lions have been fortunate enough to get workouts in each day this week.

School was called off after JT had practiced Monday and the team worked out during the athletic period on Tuesday.

Coincidentally, the Lady Lions are in a similar position to one they were in 53 weeks ago. Heading into the bi-district playoffs last year, JT’s game against Lake Ridge was pushed back a day. Eventually, the Lady Eagles prevailed, rallying from 16 points down to win 57-51.

It’s a loss the JT players haven’t forgotten.

“They have all referred back to that game and how much it hurt and how disappointed they were the season ended like that,” Smith said.

Smith said Lake Ridge is similar to the team they faced last year. Kylie Collins and Kristian DeWitt, who combined for 46 points in last year’s meeting, are both back.

The Lady Eagles finished in a tie for second in District 14-5A and beat JT’s area-round foe Red Oak twice. Lake Ridge went 7-1 in the second half of league play to make the playoffs.

If the Lady Lions can get past this round, the delayed game means they’ll be in for a quick turnaround with the regional tournament starting on Friday. Smith said his team is well-equipped to deal with the circumstances.

“I think we’re deep enough to where we can recover quickly,” Smith said. “Our kids that play are in good shape. Fortunately we have a lot of kids who can play.”

Despite the postponements and school cancellations, for the Lady Lions, this is the week they’ve been playing for all season, with a chance to make it to San Antonio on the line.

“We’re down to the final week to see who goes to the state tournament,” Smith said. “It’s a huge week; it’s the week we’ve been working towards.

“Now it comes down to we’ve got to show up and play hard.”