by Frank Aceto

Associate Sports Editor

Hudson — It may not have been the best tune-up for the big showdown against Twinsburg, but it turned out OK in the long run.

The host Hudson girls basketball team earned its third straight win after posting a lopsided 72-37 victory over Maple Heights Feb. 3 at Ray “Buck” Hyser Gymnasium.

With the win, the Lady Explorers improved to 12-4. The Lady Mustangs dropped to 3-12.

Hudson may have been focusing on another opponent against Maple.

The Lady Explorers were scheduled to entertain Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division rival Twinsburg, one of the top Division I teams in the state, Feb. 6. Results were not available at press time.

Twinsburg scored a 73-65 win over Hudson earlier in the season.

Despite some shaky moments, the Lady Explorers didn’t need much time to run away from the Lady Mustangs.

Hudson took advantage of several Maple turnovers in the first period en route to a comfortable 18-5 lead. By halftime, the Lady Explorers, who scored a number of points in transition after steals, had a commanding 41-17 advantage. Hudson, however, turned the ball over a number of times throughout the evening and may have been a little impatient when it came to hurling jump shots.

Such factors may play a bigger role against stronger opponents. And Lady Explorers head coach Dennis Lawler wanted to put those things to rest before his team played Twinsburg.

“At times, I thought we were sluggish,” he said. “We need our girls to pay more attention to detail and focus more on fundamentals. But it can be hard in a game like this.”

Hudson still managed to put points on the scoreboard at a frenetic pace and once the game got out of hand, Lawler had a chance to rest some key players. He also had several reserve players contribute. 

While Monsman, the team’s leading scorer, paced the Lady Explorers with 20 points, 11 other players also scored for Hudson.

“We got some kids rested,” Lawler said. “Hopefully, we’re hitting our stride.”

Eboni Adams paced the Lady Mustangs with 15 points and Arielle Love, who left the game late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury, added 10 points.

The Lady Explorers were scheduled to entertain Valley Division foe North Royalton Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

E-mail: faceto@recordpub.com

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