Fonda Rallies To Stay Unbeaten With Win Over Duanesburg

January 7, 2020


Fonda-Fultonville 61, Duanesburg 50

Tuesday nights are usually reserved for Suburban Council hoops, but with two of the WAC's strongest teams taking the court, it caused for a break from the norm. They certainly made it worth the trip. A big Fonda run gave the Braves an early lead of as much as 17, and a big 3rd quarter in response by Duanesburg gave the hosts the lead briefly. At the end of the day, Fonda made plays to regain the lead and hold off their opponents, walking away from Duanesburg with a hard-fought victory against another state-ranked opponent.

Duanesburg jumped to a quick 8-4 lead early thanks to a three & three-point play from Taylor Meyer (Duanesburg 2021), but that was short-lived, as Fonda reeled off a big run from there. It started with a bucket from Abby Lombardoni (Fonda-Fultonville 2020), then a three & layup from Kyla Smith (Fonda-Fultonville 2022) sprang it forward. By the time Lyndsay Lombardoni (Fonda-Fultonville 2022) scored on a short runner to end the quarter, the run was 15-0 and their lead 19-8. A Duanesburg field goal to start the 2nd only briefly stopped the bleeding, as the Braves continued to push forward. A Carly Atty (Fonda-Fultonville 2022) trey pushed the lead to 16, and then another Abby Lombardoni bucket gave the Braves their largest lead at 31-14 late in the 1st half. Duanesburg ended the half on a positive note as Allison O'Hanlon (Duanesburg 2024) hit a pair of threes to get herself going, but the margin was still double digits as they went into the locker room down 33-20.

Abby Lombardoni led the way for Fonda, finishing with 18 points while shooting 11/12 from the line.

A Taylor Meyer bucket was quickly answered with an Atty trey to give Fonda a 36-22 lead, but Duanesburg clawed from there. Maddie Meyer (Duanesburg 2022), who was held to 3 in the 1st half, got going with a bucket, then O'Hanlon hit a three & Meyer added a pair of free throws. She got to the line again and hit two, cutting Duanesburg's deficit to 38-31 with 3:15 left in the 3rd, and then it was O'Hanlon's turn. The 8th grader canned her 4th three, then finished with a reverse in transition. She capped the 3rd quarter with 3 free throws after getting fouled at the buzzer on a half-court attempt, which extended Duanesburg's spurt to 10-0 and gave them their first lead since the 1st quarter at 39-38.

It was O'Hanlon again to start the 4th, showing the midrange game to go up 3, but Atty answered with her 4th three. After getting a stop, Abby Lombardoni found Marilyn Whitcavitch (Fonda-Fultonville 2022) in transition for a layup, which gave Fonda the lead for good. After pushing the lead to 6, Duanesburg & Fonda traded buckets for a time. Hannah Mulhern (Duanesburg 2024) canned a corner three, her second straight jumper from close to the same spot, to make it 53-50 with just over two minutes to play, but the Braves would hold down the fort from there. They continued to get stops and got to the line as Duanesburg fouled to extend the game. Fonda would shoot 14 free throws over the last 1:09, hitting 8 of them - with Abby Lombardoni going 5/6 - to put the game away.

Abby Lombardoni led the way with 18 points for Fonda, shooting 11/12 from the line. Carly Atty hit 4 threes - one in each quarter - and added 12 points in the win, and Lyndsay Lombardoni chipped in with 10. For Duanesburg, Allison O'Hanlon led all scorers with 19 points. The Meyers added 24 between them, with Maddie contributing 13 & Taylor 11.

Allison O'Hanlon, a 2024, hit 4 threes and hung a game high 19 points for Duanesburg.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

This game was pretty cut & dry. Once Fonda settled in a few minutes into the game, they imposed their will and a young Duanesburg team looked a bit shook for a while. Fonda took advantage and took off. Duanesburg went into the locker room at halftime on a slightly positive note after getting a couple shots to fall and stringing together a few good defensive possessions, and they became the aggressors on their home court in the 3rd quarter, making the road team look like a road team in a hostile environment. At the end of the day, Fonda made enough shots - and enough free throws - and got enough stops to pull it out.

Carly Atty knocked down 4 threes, including a big one in the 4th quarter, and chipped in with 12 points for Fonda.

To those unfamiliar with the Lady Braves that maybe only read press clippings, a note that although there's not a question that Abby Lombardoni is their go-to player, they're far from the Abby show. It's a sophomore-heavy team, but some have been up since 8th grade, the rest were up last year, and these are kids that play year-round... it shows in their development. Although it's nice when she does, Fonda doesn't need Abby to go off for 30+ to get a tough road win against a good team. Her 18 points (on only 3 made field goals with 11 free throws) was just fine when Carly Atty hits a three every quarter, 6'1" Marilyn Whitcavitch finishes around the rim & gets out in transition for more, Kyla Smith & Lyndsay Lombardoni get loose and find ways to score -- all sophomores, by the way - and in this one, they added some gravy in points off the bench from Krystal McSpirit, another 6 footer. Along with this, credit Abby and her court vision & playmaking ability. Many scorers don't have that skill or mindset - she set teammates up well on several occasions when eyes turned to her with the ball in her hands.

If you think Fonda's '4 sophomores & a senior' starting lineup is young - which it is - meet Duanesburg. Let's call it 'the Meyers & the babies'. Taylor Meyer, the elder statesman, is a junior. It feels like Maddie Meyer has been around forever by now, but she's just a sophomore. Then there's Allison O'Hanlon, Alex Moses, and Hannah Mulhern... 8th graders. It's O'Hanlon's 2nd year starting and her & Alex have experience at higher levels on the AAU circuit within their age group, but still. Youth showed in this one. It looked like nerves took hold early - good team, game circled on the calendars, it seemed like every local publication was in the Eagles' nest to cover it, boys' team wasn't playing so the crowd was bigger - it happens, especially for a team in the process of becoming good & learning how to deal with expectations. But youth also showed in a good way - too young to know anything but to keep playing, and momentum is an interesting thing. They feed off things such as Maddie Meyer's leadership & toughness and Allison's exuberant confidence when she gets going. Allison started hitting shots and the basket got big enough for her that it could barely fit in that box of a gym, Maddie started to break through, get downhill, put pressure on Fonda, and get to the line.

Maddie Meyer was able to break free a bit in the 2nd half, where she had 10 of her 13 points for Duanesburg.

At the end of the day, both teams probably get something from this game. Fonda deals with adversity on the road again, not the first time that's happened this season. After getting smacked in the 3rd quarter, they had to dig in & respond. They did. Worthwhile for them going forward. If there was any lack of confidence on Duanesburg's end about running with some of the big dogs in the small school ranks - which I don't think there was any to begin with - wipe it away. They wiped away a large deficit against a good team, something they couldn't do when getting down big against another good team a couple weeks ago, and it's added experience with close late-game situations in a good HS basketball environment. The game didn't end how they would've hoped, but it's an experience in closing out games that's important for a young team with hopes of making a deeper playoff run.