Polanco pours in 1,000 points for Bonnies

For Fontbonne’s third-year varsity basketball player Noelle Polanco, “the handwriting was on the wall” to score 1,000 points after finishing her freshman year with 305 points as a CHSAA 2022 All League Player. Admittedly, after making the varsity two years ago, becoming a 1,000-point scorer was not on her radar as she started her freshman season.

After becoming the first freshman to score over 300 points, Polanco then realized that she could be on pace to reach 1,000 points by her senior year. As a sophomore, she embraced the 1,000-point goal and went on an accelerated pace to score 539 points while winning another All League Award to finish the season with 844 total points.

Now as a junior playing in just the fourth game of the 2023-2024 season, Polanco was only four points away from the heralded 1,000 mark as her team hosted Westchester’s Maria Regina on Saturday, Dec. 30. After making a foul shot to open the second quarter, Polanco was just three points away from reaching her goal as she sank her 1,000th point in classic style. Receiving a pass deep on the perimeter, Polanco sank a “rainbow arc” through the net to the ovation of a packed gym. 

Along with reaching 1,000 points, Polanco also scored 13 points in a 53-38 losing effort to Maria Regina that saw the Tigers pull away for the win on a 28-15 second-half scoring run. After the game, celebration reigned on the court as Polanco’s family, friends, teammates and coaches mobbed the new record-holder for photos.

When asked about reaching her goal, Polanco said, “I knew it was a possibility but I didn’t expect to do it in my junior year.”

Looking back to when she first started playing, Brooklyn Saints AAU Coach Joe Murphy was gratified to see one of his former players reach the milestone, saying, “I could tell there was something special about her. Her first ‘three-pointer’ came in the fourth grade and she was so excited about it. Who knew she was going to score 1,000 points.  It’s a wonderful accomplishment.”

Summing up her experience, the recently turned 16-year-old talented Rockaway student said, “I’ve been playing this game since second grade and it’s been fun. I definitely want to play in college, but I’m still undecided where I want to go.”