It was a tuneup for Friday night’s showdown at the ‘Cats Corral, as Wayland cruised to a 69-24 victory Tuesday night over Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.
The Lady Wildcats, ranked No. 5 and sporting a 10-0 record overall, will take on No. 3 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 10-1, in a resumption of a girls’ hoops rivalry that three years ago included a struggle in the state quarterfinals. The tall and talented Cougars have had virtually no difficulty with anyone thus far this season, except in a 59-55 loss to Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory and a 40-33 victory in their season opener to East Kentwood.
Wayland has won won by less than 10 points only once, a five-point verdict over Grand Rapids Christian in the finals of the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament.
If you play the comparative scores game, Catholic Central’s 50-23 blowout of Grand Rapids Christian makes it the favorite, but Wayland beat East Kentwood by a much wider margin, 65-46.
Wayland had minor problems in the early going Tuesday, but kicked everything into high gear to lead 45-15 at intermission. The ‘Cats yielded only nine points defensively in the entire second half.
Senior point guard Presley Hudson, continues to be in the conversation for Miss Basketball honors and is a lock for all-state accolades, poured in 30 points to bring her season per-game average above 21 points. She scored the 1,000th point of her illustrious four-year career just last Friday against Middleville.
Senior guard C.J. Miller added 10 points, Ali Cutler had eight and Hope Dollarhide seven.
PHOTO: Presley Hudson. This time it was 30 points, the third time in her career she has put up nearly 30 in one game.In one game last year, she netted 29 in one half, easily a school record. (Photo courtesy Kenny Ritz)
