Fontbonne makes NYS Sportswriters’ Top 25  

It’s been six years since Fontbonne last caught the attention of the New York State Sportswriters Association. Led by the school’s first 1,000-point scorer Katie Marquardt, in 2018 the Bonnies won their division only to lose in the championship game to a red-hot second-place St. Joseph’s team from downtown Brooklyn.

This year, the Bonnies are among the top four teams in the CHSAA’s new Class A Division. Midway through the season, 11-1 Maria Regina in Hartsdale is in first, followed by second-place Fontbonne (12-2), third-place Cardinal Spellman in the Bronx (10-1) and fourth-place Notre Dame School in Manhattan (9-4). 

For the NYSSWA’s January 17 weekly rankings for New York State’s six classes of competition (AAA, AA, A, B, C and D), the then-8-2 Bonnies were listed at number 25 in the Class A category for all of the state’s combined Catholic, public and private girls high school varsity basketball teams.

In the Sportswriters’ Class A category, 14-0 Utica Notre Dame sits at number 1, while two of the Bonnies’ CHSAA division competitors were also included in the Top 25, with Cardinal Spellman listed at number 7 and Maria Regina listed at number 21. Other local teams like the CHSAA’s Xaverian and the PSAL’s South Shore were ranked within the AAA level, while other area schools like the CHSAA’s Msgr. McClancy in Queens and the PSAL’s Medgar Evers in Brooklyn were ranked within the AA level.

The key to Fontbonne’s success this season has been prolific scoring by senior point guard Lucy Kuhlmann, with 180 points, and junior center Maryann Polanco, with 220 points. In addition to Fontbonne’s top two scorers, junior guard Siobhon O’Sullivan has provided reliable backup for Kuhlmann, while senior forwards Emma Bevacqua and Erin Murtagh have provided the needed relief for Polanco under the basket for rebounding and put-backs.