Basketball is most certainly a team game, but every once in a while it’s important to stop, take a deep breath and behold an artistic masterpiece. It happens often when observing the exploits of Wayland senior point guard Presley Hudson.

Hudson is in the running for the coveted title of Miss Basketball, and her stock rose significantly Tuesday night when she scored a school record 40 points, an astonishing 31 in the first half alone, in a 65-24 rout over visiting Mattawan.

The victory lifted coach Marty Howard’s group to 17-0 for the season overall. The Lady Wildcats will put an undefeated season and perhaps an O-K Gold Conference championship on the line at Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the second Battle of the Titans. The ‘Cats won the first showdown, 77-76 in double overtime.

Hudson, who also broke Angie Farmer Stauffer’s career scoring record set nearly 20 years ago, looked like she was possessed on the court. After missing her first attempt at a three, she nailed five in a row and scored 17 points in the first quarter alone. Wayland went up 28-7 before the start of the second period.

The star point guard added 14 more points in the second stanza, including two more threes, and the home team went into intermission with an almost incredible 45-11 advantage. Hudson’s 31 points in the first half broke her own school record she set nearly a year ago when she scored 29 against Hastings in the first half.

Nobody has been able to produce evidence of any Wayland varsity basketball player, male or female, who has scored as many or more points in just 16 minutes. The single game individual scoring record is held by Ron Kidney, who collected 45 points against Nashville in 1963. The girls’ record is Hudson’s 40, though she also had 36 in that game against Hastings a year ago. Angie Farmer Stauffer also scored 40 points in one game at Kenowa Hills in 1995.

So as it stands now, Hudson holds every individual basketball record possible for Wayland High School, which includes assists and steals, but not rebounds.

The second half was anti-climactic, as Wayland had the contest well in hand, outscoring the visiting Wildcats 17-6 in the third period to lead 62-17.

Brooke Ditto, the six-foot guard-forward for Mattawan, scored 11 points for her team, which fell to 5-12 overall with the loss.

Karli Warning had seven points for Wayland and Ali Cutler and Hope Dollarhide both had five, as Howard substituted liberally throughout the second half.

The Lady Wildcats’ “Second Showdown” is scheduled to get under way at 7:30 p.m. It promises to be a war between two of the very best teams in West Michigan.

PHOTO: Record-setting Wayland senior point guard Presley Hudson. (Photo courtesy Kenny Ritz)