Jacqueline Schoninger has done nothing but win during her first three seasons at Fieldston. The Eagles made trips to Glens Falls as the NYSAIS Class B representative when she was a freshman and sophomore and won its first ever Ivy League title last season. The Brown-bound point guard isn’t ready to finish her career without some more hardware to show for it.
“Definitely planning on doing that again,” she said. “We need to just get that [Ivy] title back.”
For the first time she is the unquestioned leader of the Eagles, who lost key seniors Chyna Strickland, Brittany Thompson and Laura Blackwood. Schoninger embraces the role that she said she has been waiting four years to gain.
“Her leadership is going to be huge for us,” coach Rock Rosa said. “Her voice is going to be heard a lot stronger than it was in the past.”
He called Schoninger the league’s best player. She will be his team’s primary ball hander, has a deadly outside shot and is quick off the dribble to the basket. Rosa has noticed an improved speed, strength and aggressiveness on the defensive and offensive ends after her summer playing AAU ball with Exodus United.
Schoninger will need help with Strickland gone. The 5-foot-10 forward was a force on both ends of the floor. Mayfield can be the team’s shutdown defender because of her speed and tenacious nature. Fieldston, which lost to Long Island Lutheran in the NYSAIS state final last season, loves to create off the press and Mayfield is great in the passing lanes.
Senior Meira McFarquhar, who tore her ACL two seasons ago, will be the Eagles top threat in the post and will need to be a force on the boards.
“She is not someone who wants the ball all the time,” Rosa said of McFarquhar, a 6-foot forward. “As long as she is ready for the ball when the guards penetrate, she has a nice soft tough. She has a nice 10-to-12 footer.”
Super athletic 5-foot-11 sophomore Kalijah Terrilli could be the x-factor. She proved last season in spurts that she could be a force in the paint on the break, but is a top soccer player and plays year round, so her contributions could be limited.
He expects a lot from junior guard Chelsea Date, hoping she can take over some of the ball handing responsibly from Schoninger along with being a consistent 3-point shooter. Freshman Annie Fernandez and Larissa MacPhee will both give Fieldston added size and should make an impact right way.
The Eagles are looking to pick up right where they left off, atop the Ivy League and making a push for Glens Falls. They went 21-6 last season. Their toughest competition will come from Hackley, Horace Mann and Poly Prep as they look
