This season starts off with two sets of sisters on Fontbonne’s varsity basketball team. Twin sisters, juniors Lucy and Tess Kuhlmann, were the first two to play for Fontbonne starting with the JV team in 2023. For the start of the 2025 season, Lucy is now the varsity’s point guard while Tess is still on the mend after suffering a highway accident.
After playing last season on the JV, sophomore Maryann Polanco joins her senior sister Noelle “Pugs” Polanco, who is currently Fontbonne’s all-time high scorer as she recently surpassed 1,500 points after scoring 17 points against last season’s champion Kennedy Catholic Firebirds. Prior to the start of the season, Polanco was offered a scholarship to the University of Charlotte, W.V., and has a pending verbal commitment to sign.

During the recent Christmas vacation, Fontbonne hosted a non-league game with the Kellenberg Memorial H.S. Firebirds from Uniondale, L.I. Playing one of the top Long Island Catholic high schools teams, the competition brought out the best of the Polanco sisters, who together scored 78% (48 of 61 points) of Fontbonne’s total points.
After the Firebirds took a 14-11 first quarter lead, Fontbonne went on a 13-4 second quarter run sparked by the Bonnies’ defense and the rebounding of Maryann Polanco and Rebecca Dileo for a 24-18 lead at the half. With Olivia Teich at the point, the Bonnies maintained a seven-point lead throughout the second half for a hard-fought 61-54 Fontbonne win.
Both sisters fouled out late in the fourth quarter but not before “Pugs” finished the game with a season-high 38 points, while Maryann finished with 10 points and was the team’s leading rebounder.