By James Summerlin
Three players on the Lady Bulldogs basketball team have been selected as NAIA first team All-Americans for the 2010–2011 season by the NAIA All-American Committee. The selections from Union are Zeinab Chan, senior history major; Kayla Hudson, senior political science major; and Lavanda Ross, junior social work major.
Chan led Union in scoring, rebounding and blocks. In 36 games at Union, Chan scored 695 points. That number puts her fifth in the NAIA Division I in scoring. She will end her Union career with 1,892 points. She also pulled down 350 rebounds and blocked 53 shots throughout the year. Her career tally will end at 1,112 rebounds and 114 blocks.
Chan said she sees her selection as a team accomplishment more than an individual achievement.
“It doesn’t feel like I just did it,” Chan said. “I feel we all did it. It has been one of the best teams I have been on. Through good, through bad, we are like sisters. Having that has really helped.”
Hudson’s selection as an All-American makes her the second player in Union history to be selected all four years. The first Union women’s basketball player to be a four-time All-American was Charlotte Hart, who played from 1985 to 1988.
Like Chan, Hudson said she sees her team as the most influential part of her selection as an All-American.
“It is definitely an honor,” Hudson said. “I play with the greatest teammates in the nation. I really believe that. We make each other better and we love each other.”
Hudson ended her career at Union after scoring 604 points this season, which gives her a total of 1,776 points scored throughout her time at Union. What separated Hudson from others this season was her ability to pass the ball without turning it over and also her three-point shooting. She made the most three-point baskets this year in NAIA Division I with a total of 121. Her three-point field goal percentage was .438, sixth in the NAIA. She was third in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio with just 2.34 per game.
Ross led the Lady Bulldogs in steals this year with 75. She shot just over 57 percent in field-goal percentage, putting her at seventh in the NAIA for the category. This year, Ross put up 476 points in 33 games. As a junior, Ross is eligible for one more year with the Lady Bulldogs.
Chan and Hudson were also were selected to the NAIA tournament first team this season. This is not as prestigious as a national title, but the team is holding its head up after a disappointing loss to Azusa Pacific University in the national championship game.
“No regrets,” Chan said. “We gave it everything we could. At the end of the day, lose or win, be thankful and give glory to God.”
