Presley Hudson sets CMU scoring record in win against Ball State
Sophomore guard Presley Hudson set the Central Michigan women's basketball team's single-game record Wednesday night as the person she passed watched from the sideline.
Hudson scored 43 points on 13-for-18 shooting to lead the Chippewas to a 101-92 victory against Ball State.
She surpassed CMU's video coordinator, Shonda Long, who scored 40 points for CMU in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals in 2011.
She also tied a single-game record in 3-pointers made with nine and CMU as a team set the single-game record for made 3s with 17.
Hudson said her play on the court starts with how she approaches the game from a mental stand point.
"Coach is always telling me to shoot more, and I think I’ve been pretty confident going into games,” she said. “I’m not thinking about too much, and sometimes I tend to do that, but lately I’ve just been going out and playing the game.”
After a tightly contested third quarter, CMU lead by nine points heading to the fourth. The Cardinals were down 94-92 with 3:28 left in the game when Hudson went in for her final act. She scored seven straight unanswered points to put the game away and keep CMU undefeated in conference play.
“It’s a game of runs and I think you have to be able to withstand the runs, when you get punched in the gut you have to punch back,” said head coach Sue Guevara. “You can’t fold, and we showed the mental toughness that Presley, Jewel, and Cassie all have."
Four other Chippewas scored in double-figures. Junior guard Aleah Swary had 14 points, sophomore forward Reyna Frost had 12 points, while senior forward Jewel Cotton tallied 10 points.
Junior guard Cassie Breen turned it on in the second half, making all four of her 3-pointers to score 16 points.
Breen said she thinks Hudson’s recent play starts with her growth as a player.
"I’ve played with her all of her freshman year and now this year and its a lot of maturity,” Breen said. “She’s really getting the feel of the floor and looking for her shot rather than just being a pass-only point guard.”
It was a back-and-forth game from start to finish. CMU led 53-41 with 1:17 left in the first half when the Cardinals went on a 9-0 run to end the half capped off with a half court buzzer beater.
Hudson continued to pick her team up by coming out of the locker room to hit back-to-back 3s and as CMU opened the second half on a 9-2 run.
Every time Ball State would comeback after being down by double-digits, CMU would go on a run of its own.
Moving forward, Guevara said she knows that the competition won’t get any easier.
“Every game, especially in the west (division), is brutal and I mean just brutal,” she said. “Every game we play is a championship game, we have to go in with that mentality and keep developing our inside and outside game to get back to Cleveland. That game tonight was our Cleveland, the game against Bowling Green will be our Cleveland, we have to think that way every night.”
CMU will now hit the road to take on Bowling Green at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Chippewas are 1-3 on the road this season.
