Fontbonne sophomore soars above 500 points

February 27, 2023 Jim Dolan

Fontbonne sophomore guard Noelle Polanco streaks down the court past her St. Jean Baptiste defender during last week’s quarterfinal playoff game.

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The scoring watch began when varsity sophomore Noelle Polanco surpassed her freshman point total of 305 points at the midway point of this season. With 11 games left along with the postseason, it appeared that 500 season points were attainable, with Polanco scoring between 25 and 35 a game.

Finishing the regular season schedule with 480 after a win over St. Edmund Prep, the point guard from Rockaway went on to score 59 more in two playoff games for a final total of 539.

After Polanco scored 36 points in the first playoff round – a 50-40 win over St. Edmund’s again – the fifth-seeded Bonnies advanced to the quarterfinal round to play Manhattan’s third-seeded St. Jean Baptiste. Having lost a close game to St. Jean earlier in the season, the Bonnies entered this contest as the clear underdogs with only six players available to take the court.

Despite the lack of subs, all six Bonnies “played up” for the game, taking a 26-23 lead at the half. Put into the position of playing practically a full game, junior forward Val Caggiano had her best game as a varsity player, scoring a career high of 13 points while dominating under the basket. Although Polanco scored 23 points, her contribution fell short as St. Jean went on an 18-8 scoring run in the fourth quarter for the final score of 62-48 to eliminate Fontbonne from this season’s playoff picture.

With Polanco’s two seasons combined, her point total is 844. Given the track that she is on, it appears she could reach 1,000 points next season as a junior before the end of December. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Polanco would be the first player to reach 1,000 points as an underclassman, surpassing Kate Marquardt’s 2018 mark of 1,000 points as a senior.