By Erik Harris
MONTGOMERY — Clay-Chalkville senior point guard Kristian Hudson said on March 6 that she liked Alabama’s chances to take back the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game series.
Two weeks later, she stood at half court on Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome floor holding the game’s MVP award. Her 23 points, five assists and three steals helped Alabama to a 93-87 win, which gave it a 13-12 edge in the overall series.
Free-throw shooting played a big role in the victory, and Hudson certainly did her part from the stripe, going 7-for-8 on Friday night. As a team, Alabama shot 22-of-28 from the foul line.
Alabama, coached by Red Bay’s Donnie Roberts and Jeff Davis’ Lakenya Knight, also held a firm advantage on the boards. They cleared 54 rebounds to Mississippi’s 43.
Hudson got plenty of help from her teammates on the scoreboard. Three of them finished with double-digit scoring totals. Hoover’s Jada Smith and Huntsville’s Shaquera Wade both contributed 15 points while Salina Virola of Lee-Huntsville chipped in with 14.