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No. 11/13 North Carolina Defeats Eagles, 80-42
Hunt leads all scorers with 16 points

December 31, 2002

Chanel Hunt led the Eagles with 16 points against North Carolina

Gameday Central
American	42
No. 11/13 North Carolina	80
Box Score
Points: Hunt (AU) 16; Atkinson (UNC) 14, Metcalf (UNC) 14 Rebounds: Hunt (AU) 6, McNatt (AU) 6; Atkinson (UNC) 8, Metcalf (UNC) 8 Assists: Rhymer (AU) 4, Brown (UNC) 8

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After starting out strong against the nationally-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, American University's women's basketball team fell, 80-42. The loss is AU's third straight as the Eagles drop to 6-5 while UNC improves to 10-1. Playing close to her hometown of Raleigh, Chanel Hunt led all scorers with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

After spotting UNC a 5-0 lead, Hunt and Angel McNatt made baskets to put AU on the board. The Tar Heels were back up 12-6 before a McNatt three-pointer cut the deficit to three. Another six point run by UNC extended the lead to nine with over 11 minutes to play in the first half.

A Hunt jumper made the score 24-17 with under eight minutes to play in the half. The Tar Heels then reeled off ten straight points as part of a 24-2 run to close the half and open up a 48-19 halftime advantage. Leah Metcalf made three three-pointers in this stretch as UNC was 6-for-11 from behind the arc in the first half and shot 64.3 percent from the floor in the half.

AU battled hard in the second half and were only outscored by the Tar Heels by nine. Chanel Spriggs had six steals while Hunt had five as the Eagles and UNC each had 27 turnovers. The 27 turnovers were a season high for the Tar Heels and AU's 15 steals were the most by a North Carolina opponent this season.

Hunt and McNatt led AU with six rebounds each, but the Tar Heels held a 46-48 advantage on the boards. McNatt set a new career-high with 12 points. The Eagles did struggle at the foul line, shooting only 3-for-14 from the stripe.

After nearly a month away from Bender Arena, AU returns home on Sat. Jan. 4 to take on Maryland-Baltimore County. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.