The wait is over for coach Wes Hudson and his Wayland girls’ basketball team.

The Lady Wildcats ended a futility streak that reached 16 games and defeated Middleville Thornapple Kellogg 54-45 Tuesday evening to capture Hudson’s first varsity coaching triumph. It was the result of a lot of frustration, hard work and undeterred effort in getting better as the season progressed.

Hudson inherited a team that lost its top six ballplayers from a year ago, a team that featured very little varsity experience. Making matters worse was that four players  were sidelined by injuries at the same time, leaving only seven girls eligible to play in some of the contests.

The situation became dire and sophomore Grace Dollarhide was elevated from the junior varsity to add to the depleted numbers, standouts Samantha Nieuwkoop and Mari Biondo came off the disabled list and senior guard-forward Taryn Coughlin took on the role of team leader.

There were some observers who speculated the Lady Wildcats may not win a game during the entire 2016-17 campaign, or if they did, it would come in the post-season Class D district tournaments. That forecast now has been beaten.

PHOTO: (Courtesy of Terry Ellis) Coach Wes Hudson

Lady Wildcats celebrate.