Airedales travel to County Line Friday
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Alma boys basketball coach Dominic Lincoln said he’s looking forward to Friday’s last regular nonconference game at County Line.
The Indians are coming off a 1A state championship run and a sustainable nine-year stretch that has seen coach Joe Brunson’s squad post 30 or more victories in six of nine seasons, punctuated by the team’s remarkable two-year stretch that saw the Indians win 84 of 89 games between 2021-23.
Playing at County Line Friday is a treat for hardcore basketball enthusiasts such as Lincoln.
“I’m from a small school (Crosset); it’s not a 1A school, but it’s going to be a great environment,” the Airedales’ coach said. “At the same time, they're going to be well-coached. I think they’re 11-and-5, and they’re coming off a state championship. I know they have some pieces missing, but I’m excited to go down there and play in a hostile environment.”
Since the 2015-16 season, County Line is 275-59. This year’s team, which defeated St. Paul Thursday, is currently 12-6.
“I’m kind of excited to go there, just because I hear that it kind of gets loud in there and it’s going to be a different environment,” Lincoln said.
Alma’s Tyree McGill played defense during last week’s tournament in Tahlequah, Okla.
The Airedales (5-4) will play six games between Friday and Dec. 29 to get them ready for next month’s 5A-West opener with Harrison. Including last week’s 2-1 showing at the Tahlequah Tournament, Alma is playing 10 consecutive road games.
The Airedales are 3-2 on the road.
“I thought the tournament was really good for us as a group; Sequoyah-Tahlequah did a great job of hosting,” Lincoln said. “We got three different games and three quality opponents. I thought the Muldrow game was good for us, and McLain, that’s an inner-city Tulsa school that’s really physical and athletic. That’s one of the biggest games we’ve won with this group. That’s a game I feel like we would have lost last season.”
‘Grit and toughness’
GIRLS — Coach Chanlee Bottoms prefers winning over losing.
But, while wins and losses can be fleeting, one thing she does expect is to play hard.
“With our conference right now, which is extremely tough, we've got a great group of girls and they battle on grit and toughness, and I think that’s what our conference is about,” Bottoms said. “It’s going to be a battle in our conference. You’re going to always have Greenwood up there near the top, but I think with our girls, on any given day, our girls are going to battle. That’s what our practices are about right now — grit and toughness.”
Alma (5-6) travels to County Line Friday with a chance to stretch its current winning streak to three.
More importantly, Bottoms said, she’s looking forward to playing in an old-school gym where the fans are right on top of you.
“Maybe stepping back into Crabtree, too,” Bottoms said. “That’s what I told the girls, how cool is it to be able to play in an atmosphere like that? That’s a game that we need to win, obviously, but more than anything we need to show up with grit and toughness, and the nonnegotiables of Lady Airedale basketball.”