DeLAND, Fla. - The Stetson University women's basketball team took to the Edmunds Center on Tuesday afternoon for a meeting with the North Carolina A&T Aggies to kick off the Holiday Hoops Classic but fell short in a 57-54 loss, ending their undefeated streak at home.

In a game that saw three lead changes, the Hatters, who were led in scoring by Anna Kunzwiler, could not complete a comeback after trailing by as many as 10 points in the final minute.

Despite leading by eight at halftime, the Hatters nearly sent the game to overtime but feel a three-pointer short as a pair of three-pointers from Kunzwiler brought Stetson within striking distance in the closing seconds.

After a 3-2 start by the Aggies, graduate Quentarra Mitchell launched the Hatters ahead in the early minutes with a pair of threes. Khamya McNeal and Jamiya Turner also began the first quarter with four points each, the latter of the two successfully converting an and-1 opportunity.

With a 14-9 lead, Jordan Peete opened up the scoring in the second quarter to bring the Hatters' lead to seven points. When the Aggies brought the deficit to within four points is when Kunzwiler began to heat up from beyond the arc.

Following a 3-of-3 performance on Sunday, the freshman sharpshooter hit a pair of threes in the second quarter, interrupted by a layup from Jaelyn Talley, who was named last week's ASUN Player of the Week for her efforts in the win against Morgan State.

North Carolina A&T answered with a jumper before Promise Keshi connected on a three-pointer off the feed from McNeal. Following a pair of Aggies free throws, Talley sent the Hatters into the half with an eight point lead with a shot in the closing minute.

The Aggies began the second half by mounting an 8-3 run with Stetson's lone basket on the run coming from Kunzwiler while Treadwell split on a pair of free throws.

North Carolina A&T went back-and-forth to conclude the third as McNeal contributed the final five points for Stetson in the quarter, three of which were courtesy of a successful and-1. A last second shot from the Aggies cut the Stetson lead down to just one point prior to the final quarter.

The Aggies launched a 13-3 run to begin the fourth quarter, with free throws coming from Mitchell and freshman Sophia Fontaine, before Turner ended the run with a jumper with a minute and 43 seconds to go.

After North Carolian A&T took a ten point lead with 38 seconds remaining, their largest lead of the day, Kunzwiler buried a three to bring it back to single-digits.

Following an intentional foul, in which the Aggies hit both shots from the line, Peete was fouled and made her first of two shots. Her second shot was kept alive by Mitchell, who found an open Kunzwiler for another three-pointer.

Now down by five, the Hatters fouled again, this time resulting in both free throws missing the mark. McNeal, who secured the rebound, was fouled and subsequently hit both of her attempts.

An Aggies turnover led to one final shot for the Hatters but they could not connect from beyond the arc and thus dropped their first home game of the season.

Kunzwiler led the Hatters for the second time this season after making her second career start. The freshman guard went 5-of-10 from the field, 4-of-9 from the perimeter, to finish with 14 points, tying a season-high for her.

McNeal filled out the stat sheet in the start, tallying 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block and a steal to finish her afternoon.

Turner concluded her day with six points and two rebounds as she is now just two boards away from the 500 career mark.

Off the bench, Mitchell provided a spark with eight points, five rebounds and three assists.

As a team, the Hattes shot 17-of-60 from the floor (28.3%) and 7-of-30 from beyond the arc (23.3%). They were outscored in the paint 28-18 and narrowly outrebounded 37-36. 14 of Stetson's rebounds came on offense, leading to 16 second chance points.

Stetson, now 3-9 on the season, will return to action tomorrow for the second day of the Holiday Hoops Classic. The Hatters will host Valparaiso at 11:00 AM in the Edmunds Center and the action will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available at gohatters.com.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.

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