Airedales set for home opener
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
The Alma Lady Airedales and Airedales basketball teams return home Monday for their home opener with Clarksville.
The Airedales, who were set to play Sylvan Hills Friday, opened up on Tuesday, with the Lady Airedales dropping a 48-38 decision to Lakeside and the Airedales beating Shiloh Christian, 56-44.
The Airedales travel to Southside on Nov. 28 and return home for the Charles B. Dyer Classic on Dec. 1-2 against two quality programs, Lake Hamilton and Bentonville West.
Coach Chanlee Bottoms and the Lady Airedales host Mammoth Spring on Nov. 30 and will face Bergman and Greenland in the HBD Classic on Dec. 1-2.
Junior Boys
The Alma Airedales opened Thursday’s game with Southside with a remarkable stretch of basketball.
But, after outsourcing the Mavericks, 19-2, to open the game, Alma had to withstand a barrage of 3-pointers before holding on for a 48-43 victory — the team’s third in as many games.
Alma will play Northside Saturday at 3:15 p.m. in the tournament finals.
“We beat Bentonville (last week), we beat Southside tonight, and got a chance to go beat Northside (Saturday),” Alma coach Eddie Corder said. “That would be big for us. We’re going to be ready to come back and play Saturday at 3:15.”
Luke Stogsdill led Alma with 16 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Carson Curd added 12 points, and three dimes and helped clinch the victory with three late free throws.
Alma’s Lawson Adams had nine points and a team-high three steals. Hudson Loughridge and Cade Moore finished with five and four points, respectively. Landon Taylor added a basket to go along with a rebound and an assist.
Junior Girls
Alma built a quick 11-0 lead and cruised to a 34-22 win over Scranton at the Charleston Tournament Thursday.
Olivia Hughes led Alma (1-1) with a game-high 12 points. The Lady Airedales never trailed.
Alma will face Northside at 2 p.m. Saturday in the tournament finals. The Lady Airedales are bidding for their second straight tournament championship.
“We won it last year and our goal is to win it again Saturday in the championship,” freshman Faith Sartor said. “I think we did a really good job of executing today. We can do better, and with time that’s going to come. As a team, this was only our second game together. I feel like we’re really going to be a force to be reckoned with in our conference. Hopefully, we can get that championship.”
Sartor finished with nine points, and Lauren Settles added seven. Anna Swarnes and Madie House added four and two points, respectively.
Did You Know?
Back in high school, former Alma guard Daryl Fimple used to crawl through a small window in Crabtree Gym to play basketball. One night, the late Charles B. Dyer (Alma’s longtime superintendent of schools), caught him. “He gave us a key and said not to break anything and turn the lights off,” Fimple said.
A 1993 AHS grad, Fimple played for Marty Barnes at Arkansas Tech (1993-95) and was a student men’s assistant from ’95-96, and then a student coach for the Golden Suns (1996-98).
Fimple, who said Mrs. Hilda Valentine (mother of former AHS principal Jerry Valentine) was his favorite teacher, has coached North Little Rock to five state girls basketball championships — 2006, 2010, 2016, 2016, and 2022, including a 31-0 run in 2010.
Three of his NLR teams finished second (2009, ’17, and ’23).
This Week In Airedale History
Michael Funderburg scored 25 points and Danny Vines and Jeff Lewis added 16 and 12, respectively, to help lead the Airedales to a 70-64 victory over the Springdale Bulldogs in the season opener for both teams.
Alma sophomore Bert Adams finished with six points in the Airedales’ victory.