Sophomore tandem looks to improve on last year's success
Last season, Presley Hudson and Reyna Frost were part of the hardest-working freshman class Sue Guevara said she has ever coached at Central Michigan.
Hudson and Frost were instrumental in helping the Chippewas go from a fifth-place finish in the Mid-American Conference preseason women's basketball poll to MAC Tournament runner-ups in March.
As the two begin their sophomore seasons, the duo is focused on getting the Chippewas back to Cleveland to avenge their 73-71 overtime loss to Buffalo and head to the NCAA Tournament.
“I think everybody’s mindset for each year has been getting a championship, so that won’t change,” Hudson said.
Hudson led CMU in scoring last season, averaging 13.9 points per game. She scored 53 points in her first two games as a Chippewa and was named the College Madness National Player of the Week and the MAC West Player of the Week.
The reigning MAC Freshman of the Year is not perfect each time out, Guevara said, with a reminder that Hudson was held scoreless in a game last season.
“You saw last year when Presley didn’t score,” Guevara said. “Every time I told her, ‘Everything that you’re doing, that game was an anomaly. It happens. Let it go and move on.’ (It’s about) consistency and I think that’s what she did.”
Guevara also challenged her guard to be more vocal at the point guard position. Hudson and junior guard Amani Corley were asked to lead a team exercise.
“They had to lead, they had to direct, they had to instruct, they had to hold somebody accountable. They had to open their mouths and be heard,” Guevara said. “I’ve seen (and heard) more of that from both them.”
Hudson said communication and hard work are the keys to this team’s success, and added she needs to be more vocal as a potential facilitator of the offense.
“I feel I just have to be a lot more vocal with the team — just kind of being more of a point guard,” Hudson said. “I have to be able to tell people where they need to be, calling out plays and stuff like that.”
Frost went from a bench role to starter last season. In the MAC opener, she recorded a career-high 27 points in a win over Kent State and also posted 18 points and 20 rebounds in a win against Akron later in the season.
The Chippewas led the MAC in rebounding, and Frost was fourth in the conference with 9.3 boards per game.
Frost said she wants to leave CMU as the school’s all-time leader in rebounds, which is currently held by Crystal Bradford’s 1,140 boards from 2011-15. Frost tallied 308 in her freshman season.
“We didn’t lose any rebounders and that’s important because that was a big part of our game last year,” Frost said. “Being able to do that helps us win a lot of games. We’re all in shape and we all know the game better (with) more experience. I think we’ll be able to dominate the boards again.”
