Oliver twists and turns down court to lead Bonnies

It seems like just yesterday when the Bonnies’ senior Varsity point guard Kate Oliver was watching her older sister from Fontbonne’s stage only five years ago. Now, just like her sister Jill, Kate has become one of Fontbonne’s high performers on the court. Following in her sister’s footsteps and under the guidance of her father, Varsity Head Coach Stephen Oliver, Kate has become one of the Girls CHSAA’s top playmakers and high scorers this season.

Anyone attending a Fontbonne game will always hear Coach Oliver repeatedly telling his team from the bench to, “Run the play, run the play!” Getting players in position on offense and then having them continue with their assignments is one of the biggest challenges that high school coaches have when their team has the ball.

With Kate Oliver in the driver’s seat at the point position this season, Coach Oliver’s team benefits from a steady performer on the floor to “run the play.”

Fontbonne 54, St. Agnes 33Coming back from an Arizona tournament in late December, the Bonnies drew momentum from their trip west for two consecutive wins over St. Saviour and Bishop Ford. Leading the way the again in the scoring department over St. Agnes was the Bonnies’ Kate Oliver with 20 points, while teammates Kristen Sullivan also contributed with 13 points and Jill Nixon with 10 points for a dominating home win.

Fontbonne 44, St. John’s Prep 32 Meeting some more challenging competition, the St. John Red Storm surged ahead of Fontbonne in the first quarter by the score of 9-4. Gaining their composure on their home court and running their plays as practiced, the Bonnies began to find the basket under the leadership of the game’s high scorer, Kate Oliver (17 points).

Under Oliver’s direction, Fontbonne subsequently went on an 18-8 run to go ahead 22-17 at the half. After taking back the lead, the Bonnies increased their winning margin at the end of the third quarter by the score of 31-25 as freshman guard Meaghan Glynn added nine points, while senior center Sullivan controlled the paint with rebounds and added nine points as well.

The St. John’s win now gives Fontbonne a league record of 7-2 for third place at the mid-season mark with St. Edmund Prep (8-1) in first, followed by Bishop Kearney (7-1) in second place.

During the upcoming weeks, Fontbonne is scheduled to meet both these first and second place teams again as well as formidable league newcomer, Monsignor McClancy. The fourth place, 5-3 McClancy team is a new entry to the league from Astoria that also beat the Bonnies for one of their first losses of the season in early December.