Hudson, Wood earn player of week honors

SPRINGDALE — As a former point guard from her playing days, Heather Hunsucker knows what it’s like to be in the shoes of junior Charleen Hudson.

So it’s a testament to Hudson’s abilities and decision-making that Hunsucker, head coach of the Springdale girls, has complete trust in Hudson’s abilities and decision-making.

“She understands when she needs to score and when to get her team involved,” Hunsucker said of Hudson. “As a head coach, that gives you a lot of confidence with such a headsy point guard.”

That faith is even stronger after Hudson’s performance last Saturday in a historic win for the Lady Bulldogs.

Hudson scored a game-high 25 points to go with 3 rebounds and 4 steals in Springdale’s 55-52 win against Fort Smith Northside in new Bulldog Arena.

The win was Springdale’s first against Northside since Feb. 18, 1997.

Hudson is the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Girls Basketball Player of the Week. Hayden Wood of Springdale Har-Ber is the NWADG Boys Player of the Week.

Northside, like many other teams, made a deliberate effort to keep Hudson from being a factor late in the game, but it was Hudson who tied the game at 50-50. She then made 3 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final 20 seconds to help Springdale seal the victory.

Hudson also scored her 1,000th career point in the win against Northside.

Hunsucker, a former Northside standout, said other teams have tried to take Hudson out of the game by doubleand triple-teaming her, but she finds ways to make plays, whether by scoring or distributing the ball.

“Charleen will be the first one to tell you that she believes with her whole heart it’s a team sport,” Hunsucker said. “She’s a point guard that’s going to involve her team every time she can. She has this natural ability to understand when it’s time to control the game. I’ve only coached one kid like that, Calli Berna at Fayetteville. She was a team-first player. She always understood when it was time to put the team on her shoulders.”

It showed up in the LRCA Holiday Classic, where she was named tournament MVP. In the championship game, a 75-71 win against host Little Rock Christian on Dec. 30, she scored 13 points with 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. The game before in a 56-47 win against Bryant, she had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. And in the tournament opener against Little Rock Parkview, she had 18 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists.

“She’s going to help us get the ball to the right people at the right time,” Hunsucker said.

On the season, Hudson is averaging 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 75.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Springdale travels to Fort Smith Southside on Tuesday.

Wood filled up the basket for Har-Ber in an 83-66 victory at Rogers on Saturday.

The Jacksonville signee scored 32 points as the defending 6A-West Conference champions won their league opener.

This was on the heels of Wood’s 31-point, 11-rebound performance in Har-Ber’s 66-58 win over Xavier (Texas) in the King Cotton Holiday Classic in Pine Bluff on Monday.

“I go into every game wanting go in and help the team win,” said Wood. “Some nights that’s scoring and some nights that’s facilitating. We have a very unselfish team.”

Wood can score at all three levels, which makes him tough to guard, said Har-Ber coach Tommy Deffebaugh.

“Being 6-6 allows him to score inside over smaller opponents,” Deffebaugh said. “He’s got a good mid-range jump shot. He can finish with both hands. What really separates him is he can go right or left, and he can shoot the three, and that makes him tough to guard.

On the season, Wood is averaging 17 points per game.

Paired with University of Washington signee Courtland Muldrew (28.4 ppg), Wood feels like the Wildcats (7-7, 1-0) have as good a scoring duo as any team in the state.

“We know we’ve got the pieces,” Wood said. “We know we have the best offense in the state. We’ve just got to lock in on defense.”

Har-Ber plays at Bentonville West on Tuesday.