Even though she plays basketball for one of the area’s smallest schools, Hamilton Heights Christian Academy senior Raven Hunt has spent the past five years proving she can compete with anyone.

A starter since eighth grade and a national-tournament MVP last season, Hunt has already passed 1,500 career rebounds and is closing in on another milestone.

She currently leads the area with an average of 22.5 points per game, and her career scoring total stands at 2,941. With five games remaining in the regular season, Hunt is expected to join the 3,000-point club sometime next week.

“I didn’t even know about it until the past couple weeks,” she said. “I didn’t even realize how big it was. It’s a good accomplishment and something to be proud of, but I’ve never really thought about it like that.”

Hunt’s 652 points so far this season are even more impressive considering they have been scored almost entirely against TSSAA schools. Hamilton Heights, an independent high school in East Brainerd with an enrollment under 100, competes in the postseason as a Division III member of the National Association of Christian Athletes.

“We are a small school, but we have girls that are so dedicated and play for the love of the game,” Hunt said. “Playing against the bigger schools lets us show everybody else that we can compete on their level. We may not have as many people on our team, but we still have as much talent.”

This season the Lady Hawks have a 19-10 record, which includes wins over Class A, AA and AAA schools. Hunt’s season-high 35 points came against Boyd-Buchanan, and she scored 34 against Sale Creek, 29 against Ooltewah and 27 against Polk County.

Coach Shawn Stone hopes the tough competition his team has faced will help it prepare for the NACA national tournament, where Hamilton Heights will try to defend the title it earned last season thanks in large part to Hunt’s MVP performance.

“We wouldn’t have won it without her,” Stone said. “She really stepped up her game. In the semifinals, we were down eight at halftime and cut it to four in the fourth quarter. When I called time out, she looked at me and said, ‘Give me the ball. They can’t stop me.’ And they couldn’t. We just kept pushing it in to her, and we ended up winning that game and going on to the championship.”

At 5-foot-7, Hunt is listed as a shooting guard, but her biggest contributions come from the post. Whether opponents have tried to stop her with a box-and-one, triangle-and-two or a double- or even triple-team, Hunt’s ability to find an open spot on the floor has contributed to her remarkable scoring consistency.

“You can see the natural athletic ability,” Stone said. “Her best quality is her strength underneath, and we know that if we can get her the ball, she’s going to score more times than not. That’s been our gameplan for the last four years. Whenever we had to have a basket, we would take her off the wing, put her down low and get her the ball.”

Hunt, who has been a team captain since her freshman season, hopes to continue scoring baskets at the next level by becoming the second Lady Hawks player to sign with a college team.

“I have some looks right now,” Hunt said. “I’m just trying to get as many as I can, and see how many coaches I can talk to. I want to take my time and make sure I make the right decision. Whether it’s a junior college or a small D-III school, I just want to play.”

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