Poole, Lady Airedales rally past Lady Pointers, 53-48
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Numbers don’t lie.
Alma made only 3-of-16 3-point attempts during its 53-25 loss to Van Buren last month. Tuesday night, the Lady Airedales made seven first-half 3-pointers and finished with 10 in all while beating the Lady Pointers, 53-48, for the first time since Dec. 12, 2014.
It was Alma’s first victory at Claire Bates Arena since Dec. 15, 2009.
Alma made eight straight foul shots in the final two minutes of play to pull out a 53-48 victory, snapping an eight-game losing skid.
Kylie Poole led the 3-point shooting barrage with a career-high five treys and 15 points. She had 12 points in the first half alone.
“It’s unbelievable,” Poole said. “I’m grateful for the (basketball) family that I have this year and last year. I’m very thankful for this. The only reason I was able to score 15 tonight is because of my (teammates); I love them very much. We’re definitely a family.”
But Alma, after extending the lead to 10 (43-33) after three quarters, needed some late free-throw attempts to seal the victory. Oddly, up to that point, Van Buren had attempted 19 free throws compared to Alma’s two.
But Jordan Gramlich and Jaden Gramlich combined to go 8-for-8 down the stretch to erase a 48-45 deficit and give coach Chanlee Bottoms her first-ever conference road win.
Van Buren 59, Alma 47
BOYS - The Alma Airedales know what’s ahead of them. And, with three games left in the 5A-West race, the keyword is ‘ahead.’
Alma holds a one-game lead on Van Buren for the top seed in the conference, and the Airedales will play two of their final games at home, where they’ve won five straight and seven of nine overall.
Van Buren turned the tables on the Airedales Tuesday, 59-47, to pull within one game of first place. The playoff-bound Airedales will finish no worse than first or second heading into the 5A state tournament.
The Pointers built a 42-22 lead and withstood a late 25-17 push from the Airedales, handing Alma its first loss since Dec. 29. The 11-game winning streak was the team’s longest since stringing together 16 consecutive wins over parts of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.